Not Quite So Boring
by danceswithnorhythm
Summary: Daphne Greengrass isn't the person that she was at Hogwarts. She's changed for the better. However, due to her lifestyle changes, her day-to-day has become a bit mundane. Work, Study, Sleep is the never-ending loop that is Daphne's life. Until one day, while at work, she comes face to face with the least boring person in Wizarding Britain. Can he spice things up a bit?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay. So, this is my very first story on fanfiction. I've been reading them for years and finally decided to get in on the action. This is a Harry/Daphne story that takes place a few years after the end of the war. NON-Canon Pairings. I like to spice things up and change it up a bit.**

 **I am not J.K. Rowling, nor do I make any money off of this story. I'm a poor college student in denial about Harry Potter being over.**

Chapter 1

Contrary to popular belief, Daphne Greengrass was not boring. She was fun; or at least she thought she was. She was more than just a pretty face and a nice body. She was more than an uninterested gaze and a polite laugh. Daphne Greengrass could be exciting if she chose to be. She could let loose and party with the best of them if she felt so inclined. However, she just chose to be in the background most of the time. Was that such a crime?

While Daphne was a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there were quite a few things going on around her. She wasn't involved in any heroic feats nor was she taking any part of any evildoings. She just existed. She kept up with the gossip that involved the students of Hogwarts (it wasn't a very difficult thing to do with Pansy Parkinson as a "friend"), but she wasn't involved with anything herself. There was a brief moment when everyone in Slytherin thought that she and Blaise Zabini were an item, but that particular piece of garbage never left the dungeons.

In fact, Daphne had never entered a relationship with anyone while at Hogwarts. Her parents would've been horrified at the very thought. No. Daphne was a pureblood witch. And not from any old pureblood family; she was a Greengrass, an elite, proud, and strong bloodline. She couldn't sully herself with the opposite sex unless there was a marriage contract involved with someone of the same caliber. And Daphne was nothing if not a traditionalist.

At least, that was what her parents thought. For a long while, Daphne would agree. Daphne would tell anyone who asked that her greatest goal in life would be to imitate Narcissa Malfoy. She wanted to be wealthy, beautiful, and an amazing socialite. That was what her mother was and her grandmother and her great-grandmother. It was set in stone for Daphne and she wasn't one for venturing off of the beaten path. However, during the Battle of Hogwarts, everything changed for her.

For her entire life, Daphne was sought after, envied, and glorified. It was during the Battle of Hogwarts, as she was being led down to the dungeons and imprisoned like a criminal that her beliefs were thrown in her face. As her fellow students in the other houses (a vast majority of their names drawing a blank) cheered at her departure and celebrated at her embarrassment that she realized true defeat. Daphne was raised with the belief that purebloods were above everyone else, that they weren't supposed to mix with people who were lesser than them. Even mixing with purebloods who didn't believe in the hierarchy was taboo and looked down upon. Being in Slytherin house, this was an unopposed truth. She knew that other people, riffraff, probably wouldn't agree with the ideals, but she really didn't have a clue how small of a minority her belief was. It was disconcerting and daunting.

The Hogwarts dungeons had been Daphne's home for seven years, but at that moment, it had never felt more like an _actual_ dungeon. She was encased within her own mind, her thoughts ricocheting off of each other. The noise in the dungeon was deafening. People were arguing with each other, screaming escape plans at each other, and crying with each other. Everyone was scared and confused and Daphne, not one to be excluded, felt the same emotions warring inside of her.

It took a while for Daphne's prejudice to subside and sometimes it still reared its ugly head, but she was honestly and truly working on it. That awful day in the dungeon was the initial moment of change for her and she had been continually altering her views. She became less outspoken about blood purity, she became more outreaching towards those of a separate social class, and more tolerable of anyone different. It took a while, but she felt that her image had changed for the better.

Unfortunately, her family did not feel the same way. After the defeat of Voldemort, blood purity became a taboo subject. Purebloods that were once very vocal about their distaste for muggleborn witches and wizards were now silent. Even Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott were singing a different tune. Her family was no different. However, unlike Daphne herself, her family only put on an act. When Daphne tried to stimulate conversation about her changing feelings, her parents would quell her voice. Even Daphne's own sister, Astoria, wasn't REALLY trying to change. It was all for publicity.

It was because of this that Daphne and her family were estranged. Daphne had changed as a person. Her parents said that they couldn't recognize her. She wasn't who they thought she was and Daphne was glad for it. With these new ideas of equality brewing within her, Daphne sought out a greater goal for herself. She couldn't imagine herself being tied to social events and putting on a front for the public eye. Her desires ventured past that avenue. She wanted so much more for herself.

When Daphne was offered an opportunity to return to Hogwarts for an 8th year since the Carrows had literally obliterated her 7th, she became much more interested in the profession of Healing. Although her Potions scores weren't the best, she was exemplary at Charms, Runes, and Transfiguration. Her History of Magic wasn't that bad either. She spent most of her free time in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey, helping with minor injuries and soaking up all of the knowledge that the mediwitch was willing to offer. Daphne found something that she was truly passionate about that would pay well enough for her to not starve.

With an amazingly passionate recommendation from Madam Pomfrey and a cookie-cutter one from Headmaster McGonagall, Daphne was fortunate enough to be accepted into the Healers Program at St. Mungos. She wasn't the most gifted student, but she wasn't the most challenged either. She spent most of her downtime studying and with her face in a book. She had absolutely no social life and very few friends. Maybe that was why people thought that she was boring.

Daphne was sitting alone in the break room eating from a bag of crisps and reading a thesis on the new development of the healing properties of crabgrass legs when her mentor, Healer Alvarez, sauntered in. She looked around the vacant room until her eyes landed on Daphne. With a sigh of resignation she finally called out to her.

"Greengrass." Daphne looked up from her reading material for a brief second and then let her eyes wander back to the page. "I'm on lunch break, Healer Alvarez."

Alvarez pursed her lips and huffed. Daphne wasn't usually this rude, but the prior week had been stressful. Exams, papers, and working at the hospital wasn't an easy task and it was starting to take its toll on her.

"I'm aware of that, Greengrass. But everyone else left the hospital for lunch and you're still here. I need your assistance with a patient. I thought you'd jump at the opportunity for some hands-on experience," Alvarez quipped, an eyebrow raised. Healer Alvarez was a middle-aged woman with tan skin and ebony black hair. Her eyes were almond shaped and as black as coal and her demeanor was one that rivaled the current Headmistress at Hogwarts.

"I'd hate to take you away from such a nutritious meal," Alvarez sneered, alluding to the empty bag of crisps sitting beside Daphne. "But far be it me to think that you actually care about your education. If you truly wish to become a healer, then you will need to realize that duty calls when it calls. It could give a damn about your deserved leisure time."

Daphne refrained from rolling her eyes and instead placed a minor charm on the text to maintain her place for further reading later. She stood up, brushed the crumbs of crisps off of her pale blue healer's robes, and grabbed the healer's notes about the patient from Alvarez so that she could read over them.

A broken leg, dislocated shoulder, fiendfyre burn on 30% of the body, and a possible venomous bite from a rare species of mermaid. Daphne couldn't help but wonder how the hell this person had been alive and what they had done to get into such a predicament in the first place.

"He's an auror," Alvarez volunteered. "He's new, obviously. You'll see a lot of rookie aurors here from time to time. It's almost like a right of passage."

Daphne silently thanked Merlin that her job wasn't so dangerous. She still couldn't fathom the scenario in which all of this would take place.

As they reached the room where the patient was held, Alvarez stood in front of the door, blocking Daphne from entry.

"It's very important that when dealing with celebrities, we maintain our oath to secrecy. We wouldn't want any of our patient's personal business being printed in the Daily Prophet. We'd fail our jobs as Healers if we allowed such failure."

Daphne was taken aback. She could keep a secret. It was practically a requirement to be in Slytherin. But, she didn't realize that she was going to be meeting a celebrity. Her day was proving to be very "un-boring" with speed.

Daphne gazed back down to the chart in front of her and her eyes grew as wide as saucers. Alvarez opened the door but Daphne could not walk over the threshold. She was stunned. It had been years since she'd seen him and the last time that she did, he was cheering for her removal. Seeing him would bring back painful memories of a person that she no longer was.

Harry Potter.

He laid unconscious in the hospital bed, monitoring charms beeping all around him, and the smell of different potions lingering in the air.

"Mother of Merlin," Daphne breathed. He had definitely grown. Harry was never a large person to begin with. In fact, if memory served her well, he was always scrawny and rather short. But this Harry Potter was nearly unrecognizable. Daphne could barely see the lightning bolt scar, but she was unsure if that had more to do with the scar being faded or if it was because Harry Potter was so pale. His hair was not as lively as she remembered it being. He used to look like he'd been bitten by a Lightning Lizard because his hair was always out of control. Although he was lying down, it seemed to Daphne that Harry Potter was taller than she remembered as well.

"It's almost time to put the burn paste on the patient. Before administering the paste, we must give the patient a heavy dose of pain potion, to prevent unnecessary discomfort," Alvarez professionally spoke. Daphne had to tear her eyes away from ogling the unconscious hero.

Dr. Alvarez brandished her wand and woke Potter with a quick _reneverate._ His eyes shot open and then quickly closed again as he groaned in pain.

"Where am I?" he asked groggily.

"You're in St. Mungos Hospital, Mr. Potter. We'll need for you to take this pain potion so that we can see to your wounds," Alvarez spoke in the softest tone that Daphne had ever heard her use. She wasn't sure if this was Alvarez's tone when speaking to patients or if she reserved it only for higher profile patients.

"But, what about Ron? What about Dolohov? Did we get him?" he asked, trying to get out of the bed. Alvarez put a calming hand on his arm to stop him from moving. To be honest, Daphne had no idea how he was able to move around. According to his chart, he should be screaming for the pain potion.

"You can have visitors once you are feeling better and those visitors may be better suited to answer your questions. Now, if you will, please take the pain potion," Alvarez insisted.

Harry nodded and grabbed the pain potion that Alvarez was holding out to him. He downed it all in one quick swig, not even making a grimace at the bitter liquid.

While Alvarez was starting to unwrap the bandages across Harry's chest where the burn was most serious, Harry finally noticed Daphne.

There was a look of confusion followed by a look of recognition and then a look of discomfort.

"Daphne Greengrass?" he asked unsurely.

Daphne's eyes widened. She didn't think that "Saint Potter" (as Draco unaffectionately called him) would recognize her, much less know her name.

"Yes, this is my Healer in training, Daphne Greengrass. She'll be observing how I handle and heal your injuries." Alvarez turned her black eyes towards Daphne, a slight scowl forming. "You didn't tell me that you knew Harry Potter."

"Everyone knows Harry Potter," Daphne deadpanned.

"Well, fine. You didn't tell me that Harry Potter knew you," Alvarez countered.

"We were in the same year at Hogwarts," Harry offered quietly, a scowl starting to form on his face as well. Daphne was not sure if it was because of the pain potion not taking full effect or if it was because of Daphne's presence.

"I didn't know that he knew me," Daphne replied to Alvarez. "We were in different Houses. I don't think we said two words to each other."

"You were in Slytherin and you were friends with Malfoy," Harry said, although it sounded more like an accusation to her. "Friends" was pushing it. True enough, Daphne and Draco had become closer thanks to her budding friendship with Hermione Granger who worked in the same department as Draco in the Ministry, but they weren't really friends. They were definitely not friends in school. It would be deemed improper. Especially because there was a marriage contract between Draco and her sister Astoria while they were still in school.

"You didn't tell me that you were in Slytherin," Alvarez gasped. "Although that does explain quite a bit." Daphne tried to hide her glare but failed miserably. What was that supposed to mean. She hoped that that wasn't a bad attempt at an insult. It was obvious that Alvarez was not in Slytherin; she would've had much better insults if that were the case.

"And you're friends with Hermione," Harry added as an afterthought. "She talks about you sometimes." Daphne smiled. It was true that an unlikely friendship between the female third of the golden trio and Slytherin's Ice Queen had begun to grow in the odd "8th year" that they shared. Hermione was emotionally (and physically) scarred from the war and Daphne was emotionally scarred from her life and they just kind of clicked. They balanced each other out.

"Good things, I hope," Daphne said. She knew that Hermione wasn't the type of friend to go behind someone's back and drag their names in the mud. Not at all like that slag Tracey Davis. No. If Hermione had anything negative to say about someone, she wasn't above going directly to that person and saying it to their face.

"Definitely things," Harry said, a small smile forming on his lips before he winced again at the ministrations of Alvarez.

 **Okay, what do you think? It's the first chapter, so I apologize if it's a bit slow. I have big plans for these two: romance, humour, drama, murder?! Maybe murder. Maybe clowns. Maybe giant carrots. Who knows? I do. Sorta.**

 **This story is currently un-beta'd. I'd like to rectify this. If you are a beta or just a reader who would like to help me polish up my story, PM me and we can talk about my devious plans.**

 **I hope to update at least twice a week, but that may or may not change as the semester drones on. I'd like to have a few chapters in my pocket, in case exams become especially deadly.**

 **I would appreciate and value reviews and hold them dear to my heart like a mother holds her chipotle burrito.**

 **Thank you very much x**


	2. Chapter 2

While Alvarez made Potter a potion that was supposed to cancel out the mermaid venom, Daphne couldn't help but wonder what Hermione was told Potter about her. 'Definitely things' is what he said. That could be literally anything.

"Are you paying attention, Greengrass? You need to be able to remake this potion verbatim in case another patient comes with the same venomous bite!" Alvarez chided in that annoying voice of hers. Daphne shook her head, trying to clear it of her muddling thoughts, and returned her gaze to Alvarez, who was staring at her with disapproval.

"I was paying attention, Healer Alvarez," Daphne lied. Daphne was an amazing liar, or at least she thought so. Healer Alvarez was not so believing.

"Then what did I just add?" Alvarez questioned.

"You just added eye of March Hare. Its purpose is to reduce inflammation and counter any coagulation of blood that the venom may have started," Daphne replied, her eyes never wavering from Alvarez's. She could see the older Healer's eyes widen a fraction in surprise before slimming in anger. Daphne couldn't help the look of victory that graced her face at guessing correctly.

"Lucky guess," Alvarez snapped. Daphne's smile only widened.

"Now, Mr. Potter, I'm going to need to-," Alvarez was interrupted by a buzzing noise in her pocket. Alvarez pulled a red galleon from her pocket and sighed in frustration. Daphne knew that the color of the galleon was used to make a distinction between the severity of importance. Red was only second to black.

"Greengrass," Alvarez started, pulling Daphne out of her thoughts. "I'm going to need you to make sure that Mr. Potter takes this potion. It's very important that he does. It's not the tastiest potion, but without it, he may not be able to walk again." With that, Alvarez swept out of the room, her dark blue robes billowing behind her.

Daphne couldn't understand why they couldn't just give the potion to Potter, ask him to drink it, and go about their day. He was right there. He could hear why it was so important. Besides, what idiot would knowingly not take a potion that was meant to help them? Daphne was more interested in whatever was the cause of a red galleon. She didn't want to be reduced to a babysitter for the 'Chosen One'.

Daphne grabbed the St. Mungos approved ladle that laid next to the cauldron brewing the potion for Potter. She proceeded to stir the potion, making sure to only stir clockwise for 34 revolutions and counter clockwise for 27.

"So, Greengrass-," Daphne heard Potter start to speak before she put a finger up to silence him. She didn't want to lose her concentration. Merlin forbid she messed up the one potion that she was allowed to touch since her start at St. Mungos. It would only make it worse that the potion was for _**THE Harry Potter**_.

After she was done stirring, and the potion was the correct hue of yellow, she turned her attention back to Potter. He looked a bit put out at being silenced, but Daphne felt that he would be more so if she screwed the potion up and he started to sprout gills.

"What were you saying?" Daphne asked, before ladeling out the correct amount of potion that Potter would need.

"So, Greengrass," he nearly sneered. "How is Hermione? We hardly get to see her anymore, thanks to you and Draco." Daphne couldn't help but laugh. Was the GREAT POTTER being reduced to childlike envy? Dedicates his entire life to saving the world from evil forces? That's not a problem. But, Merlin forbid someone else decides to spend time with one of his friends.

"Why don't you write her? Or visit her? She works at the Ministry. Aren't you only a few floors away from her?" Daphne asked, laughter still in her voice.

"She's always busy," he grumbled. "But not enough for her two favorite snakes."

Daphne rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. Was the snake jab supposed to be an insult? Really? What was with the mediocre insults? She chalked it up to the pain potion making Potter loopy. She was sure that he could produce better results if his head wasn't so cloudy. She'd witnessed more than one verbal sparring between Draco and Potter; she knew he could do better.

"That's ridiculous, Potter. Her two favorite snakes are Draco and Blaise. I'm hardly in the running at this point." That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because Potter's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, stop it. I'm just teasing. It's definitely Draco and Theo. They're much more alike than she and Blaise. Both nerds," Daphne teased. "Now, I'm going to need you to take this potion, Potter. Every drop."

Potter grabbed the large vial from Daphne's outstretched hand and gulped it down, a grimace on his face after he downed it.

"You know," Daphne began, walking towards the sink to begin cleaning all of the now dirty materials, "no one is going to be able to replace you and The Weasel."

"Weasley," Potter corrected. "Ron Weasley." Daphne waved her hand as if shooing a fly away from her face.

"Whatever. You three fought a war together. You're irreplaceable to her. And she's allowed to have friends that aren't you, you know. If you miss her you should write to her. Or surprise her at work. Or invite her to lunch or something. It's really not that difficult. Blaming your lack of attention on others is stupid, Potter," Daphne said while rinsing out the cauldron so that it could be used to brew Potter's burn paste when another treatment would be required.

"I know that," he grumbled. "I just miss her."

Daphne moved to stand next to his bed and reached a hand to his forehead, feeling for warmth. Due to the antivenom, his temperature would need to spike for a little while. It was a sign that it was working.

"So, what does she say about me that's got your knickers in a twist?" she asked conversationally.

Potter laughed and winced in pain from one of his many injuries.

"Not much really. Not anymore. While you two were still at Hogwarts, she would write to me and Ron and go on and on about you. Ron thought for a while that there might've been something going on." Daphne raised an eyebrow and Potter's face reddened in embarrassment. Daphne didn't think that he meant to say as much as he did.

"Hermione would be so lucky," Daphne whispered under her breath. Daphne was sure that Hermione's excitement about Daphne was because she lacked female friends. Sure, there was the She Weasel, but she was more like her boyfriend's sister than an actual friend to her.

"She didn't tell me that you were a healer," Potter added after a few moments of silence.

"Healer in training. I'm not actually a Healer yet," Daphne corrected. "That's why technically, I'm not supposed to be here with you unless an actual Healer is present."

"Alvarez doesn't seem to like you very much," he noted. Daphne shrugged. Alvarez was tough, but she was brilliant. Daphne was lucky to be under her tutelage. She'd have to endure hell and snippy attitudes, but it would all be worth it once her skills were put to the test in the real world.

"She's brilliant. She's just a little rough around the edges."

Daphne could see that sweat was starting to form on Potter's brow, and started to jot that down on her notes for Healer Alvarez.

"Do you know anything about my team?" Potter asked, his face flushed from the quick fever. Daphne shook her head in negation.

"No. I only know very little. I was in the middle of lunch when Healer Alvarez told me that I was needed. I don't even know how you got here. How the hell does someone get mermaid venom in their system AND fiendfyre burns?"

"With lots of luck," Potter answered. Daphne giggled and quickly stopped herself. She sounded like an idiot schoolgirl.

"Well, lucky for you, I don't think you'll need to stay here for much longer. But don't take my word as law. Healer Alvarez will need to be the one that actually gives you the information. I'm just telling you my opinion as a friend."

"Friend?" Potter asked, an eyebrow raised.

"What? No. I meant, a friend of a friend. A sharer of a mutual friend. We're not friends. I'm your healer. Well, your healer in training. It's not that big of a deal," Daphne flustered. She was never off of her game like this. She felt like a 3rd year Hufflepuff. Why was she acting like such an idiot all of a sudden?

"Besides, you don't have many 'snakes' for friends," Daphne quipped. "It might cramp your 'I'm a good guy' persona."

Potter's eyebrows furrowed and a slight frown pulled at his lips.

"One of the bravest men I knew was a sna-, I mean Slytherin. Severus Snape was-,"

"You're talking about Professor Snape?" Daphne questioned. Snape was her Head of House at Hogwarts for six years and she really didn't have much of a relationship with him. When she started her period in fourth year, she went to him to ask for help with the situation. He threw a bag of sanitary pads at her and nearly threw her out of his office.

Daphne wasn't very good at potions in school, which only strengthened the broody professor's dislike of her.

"Yes," Potter snapped defensively.

Daphne couldn't understand how Potter could come to that conclusion. The only people that Snape seemed to dislike more than her was Neville Longbottom and the golden trio, especially Harry Potter. It was almost like he lived to torture Potter.

"He was a hero," Potter whispered almost to himself. "We wouldn't have won the war without him."

Daphne vaguely recalled talk of Professor Snape being a spy after the war was one. He was given many awards posthumously. If anyone would know about who played what role in the war, it would be Potter. So, far be it her, to dispute Snape's position.

"I'm not arguing. I just didn't know," Daphne told him honestly.

Harry looked at Daphne in the eye and Daphne's heart nearly stopped again. His eyes were really green, weren't they?

"Sorry," he offered, a small smile on his lips. "I'm just really used to being defensive when people talk about him."

"Why?"

"Because people don't believe that he was a deciding factor in the war and-,"

"Fuck those people," Daphne said quickly. Harry's eyes widened to saucers and Daphne quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment.

"Shite, I'm not supposed to curse in front of you." Daphne covered her mouth again. She was REALLY not herself that day.

"Please don't tell Alvarez! She'll have me cleaning bedpans for months. I'll never get my certification."

Potter laughed loudly before wincing in pain.

"Your secret is safe with me," Potter promised. "I'm surprised that you cursed so easily." Daphne raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why is that?"

"Because you're a pureblood from an elite family. I'm actually really surprised that you're working here, too."

Daphne laughed a humourless laugh and shook her head in disbelief.

"Am I not allowed to swear and have a job?" she snapped at him.

Potter looked taken aback and quickly shook his head.

"That's not it! I swear. It's just that, it's not common. I like that you have a job and that you curse. I mean, I don't like it. I just don't mind it. Not that my opinion should matter to you. I'm not saying that it does. I'm just saying that it's nice that you're not Narcissa Malfoy is what I'm saying," he flustered. Daphne couldn't help but smile at that. It seemed that she wasn't the only person off of her game. It was hard to believe that Potter would be so flustered in his everyday life. She liked to think that his discomfort had something to do with her.

Although he tripped his way through an explanation, what Potter said was sweet. He admired that she wasn't a typical pureblood witch. He admired that she wanted more for herself than a big house and popping out heirs like brooms in a broom factory.

"You have a pretty smile," Potter commented before Daphne could say anything about his word vomit. Daphne's smile quickly faded and she could feel her face warming from a blush.

"You're just delirious with fever. Don't worry, it won't last much longer," Daphne said before summoning a cold rag to place on his forehead.

"Oh, please. You know that you're pretty. I'm not the first person to tell you that. And it's not the fever. Well, it might be the fever. But I remember that you didn't smile often at Hogwarts. You rarely showed any kind of facial expression."

Daphne's blush deepened. Daphne knew that she was attractive. She had been given compliments on her face and body for nearly her whole life. She actually turned down a modeling contract with Witch Weekly for her internship at St. Mungos. For some reason, having Harry Potter telling her that she was pretty felt like the first true compliment that she'd ever received.

It was pertinent for Daphne to wear a mask at school. There were so many things going on around her that she didn't feel safe being herself. Her family and Pansy Parkinson had seen the wide emotional range of Daphne Greengrass, but others were not so unlucky. Blaise Zabini had once described Daphne as being emotionally stunted, but he didn't realize how fortunate he was to not be subjected to the whirlwind of confliction that was Daphne's emotions.

"Didn't they call you the Ice Queen or something like that?" Potter asked, adjusting the cold and wet rag on his forehead to a more comfortable position.

"Something like that," Daphne frowned. She wasn't proud of the nickname. It did not describe her very well and it gave people the notion that she was not friendly. It might've been true while she was a student, but it was far from true once she became an adult. At least she thought so.

"People can change. I don't think that I'm that person anymore," she said proudly.

Potter smiled a wide smile and Daphne had to avert eyes so she wouldn't be blinded.

"Do you wanna go out sometime?" he asked with confidence that she hadn't seen from him until that moment.

"Okay, now I know for sure that you're delirious from the fever," Daphne teased. He shrugged.

"Probably. So is that a 'no'?" Potter questioned.

"Potter, I-," "Harry," he corrected quickly.

"Harry," she started again. "It's improper for me to go out on a date with you. You're a patient. I could get into some serious trouble for that."

"I won't always be a patient here. I'll eventually be discharged. You said so yourself." Daphne did say that. He wasn't lying. And Daphne would be lying to herself if she said that she didn't want to go. Daphne had never really been on a date before. She didn't have the time nor the desire. With school and work, most of her free time was dedicated to studying and occasionally meeting friends. She wasn't sure that she _could_ date without somehow screwing it up.

"Why don't you ask me again after you're not a patient?" Daphne suggested, her palms sweaty from her nerves.

Harry showed his broad smile again and Daphne couldn't help but reciprocate.

At that moment, there was a knock on the other side of the door. Daphne started to walk towards it to see who was on the other side but before she could reach it, Harry said loudly "Come in."

The door swung open and four men in auror robes swarm in, rushing to Harry's side. One of the men was Ron Weasley, his bright red hair making him look like his head was on fire. It didn't help that it looked like he had been tugging on it.

"Bloody hell, Harry. We thought you were done for, mate."

With all of the chaos of people entering the room and Daphne nearly being trampled in the haste, she didn't notice that Alvarez was there as well.

"Good job, Greengrass. Let's leave the visitors alone with the patient. Give them time to talk. I need to read your report and you can go on my rounds with me while I look them over."

Daphne's heart spiked again. Alvarez never let her go on rounds with her. This was definitely not a boring day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, all! I'm back with another chapter! I hope that everyone is having a good day today. Please enjoy my creative outburst!**

 **I'm not J.K. Rowling. I'm only a poor college student with a slight obsession. I own nothing but vast amounts of cheap ramen.**

 **Also, a special thanks to Vi38, my very first review. It totally made my day.**

Chapter 3

"Was that Greengrass?" Ron asked. "The Slytherin one. Not the Ravenclaw one."

Harry nodded, a sad look on his face at the fact that she was no longer in the room. He didn't know what possessed him to ask her out on a date. Sure, she was gorgeous. Like, really gorgeous. Almost to the point that it was uncomfortable. And she was nicer than he expected her to be. She gave off warmth when Harry expected coldness. But, he figured that the thing that drove him to ask was his curiosity. He had heard about Daphne from Hermione and he wanted to know her too. She was almost like a mystery while they attended Hogwarts. Unfortunately, it was a mystery that he didn't have the time to solve, what with everything else going on.

Harry's injuries were healing nicely, except for the fiendfyre burn, and the antivenom was working nicely, or so he figured. He no longer felt like he was on the brink of vomiting and his lungs hadn't disappeared for the sake of gills. He had grown gills before and it wasn't a very pleasant experience and he'd rather not do it again if he could help it. He'd rather use his lungs when not in the depths of the Black Lake.

Ron, Carlton Astro, and Stephen Mercury were staring at him, worried looks on their faces. Mercury looked more guilty than anything and Harry was pleased about it. He should feel guilty; it was his fault that Harry was stuck in that hospital bed in the first place.

Harry, Ron, Astro, and Mercury were assigned to a Death Eater retrieval mission. Antonin Dolohov had been spotted in the small town of Monte Isola, Lombarda in Italy. After finally getting approval from the Italian Ministry to capture Dolohov, Harry's team was sent out almost immediately. The report said that Dolohov was dabbling in necromancy, and having battled inferi before, Harry knew that he needed to be stopped at all cost.

Harry and Ron worked best as a duo, but because of Dolohov's affinity for the dark arts, his fugitive status, and the more than probable fact that he wouldn't come quietly, Head Auror Robards insisted that they take two more aurors along. So, with Astro and Mercury tagging along, asking more questions about the Battle of Hogwarts than asking about Dolohov's fighting style, they were walking around the town square in disguise.

"But, how did you come back? I mean, people don't just die and come back," Mercury asked for what felt like the thirteenth time. Harry ran a frustrated hand through his hair. It had been nonstop questions like that for the past two hours. He was beyond fed up and was on the brink of pulling his wand out and hexing the Auror's own version of Crabbe and Goyle. He took a calming breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to relieve the oncoming headache as much as possible.

"Look, why don't we split up?" Harry suggested. "We'll cover more ground that way. Mercury, you and I will head towards the Marina and Ron, you and Astro will head towards the mountain. If you see anything suspicious, anything worth questioning, use the galleon to report. Got it?" Harry was exhausted and didn't feel the need to any fluff. He wanted this mission over and done with as quickly as possible.

As much as he didn't want to spend anymore time with Astro and Mercury, he knew that if he left the two new recruits on their own they were more likely to get themselves injured. He wasn't a fan of babysitting grown men, but he'd rather deal with annoying questions than going back to the Ministry with one less man.

Ron looked a bit put out, but Harry could only shrug. He hoped Ron understood but he couldn't be bothered if he didn't.

Harry and Mercury walked around the marina for hours, asking fisherman and villagers alike, if they had seen anything out of the ordinary. While Harry's Italian could best be described as spazzatura, it was well enough that he could communicate with the locals. Nobody had seen anything and if they had, they weren't talking about it.

"This was a bust, Harry," Mercury said, taking a bite of the gelato that he just bought while Harry was questioning an old hag under a bridge. "We should just go back to London. It smells like fish here and it's hot. The most dangerous thing going on in this town is that guy selling enchanted dentures to the muggles." Harry shot him a dirty look. Harry felt a similar way, but he wasn't going to say it out loud. And he definitely wasn't going to go home if there was even the slightest chance that Dolohov was in the area. He was going to overturn every stone and look behind every corner until he was satisfied that Dolohov wasn't within 1000 kilometers of the place.

"We're not leaving. Not yet. I'm not certain that he hasn't been here so we're staying," Harry said with finality. Mercury scowled but he didn't push the issue any further and Harry was thankful for it. His patience was wearing thin and he didn't want to snap on the new recruit in anger.

Before long, it started to get dark out. Harry was hoping that all of this would be resolved before nightfall and that he'd be able to go back home and sleep in his own bed but he knew that that was only wishful thinking on his part. Missions like this were never resolved in a day.

"Looks like we'll have to stay here for the night," Mercury said, mirroring Harry's thoughts.

"Send a message to the others letting them know that we'll meet at the Village Inn in an hour. I think we're going to call it a night and start again at dawn."

Mercury grumbled under his breath at the thought of waking up so early in the morning, but he wasn't loud enough for Harry to hear him.

Harry stared at out the water on their way back. It was like black velvet, still and unmoving. With nightfall, the winds were starting to pick up, but still the water was unmoving. It seemed strange to Harry. If there was anything that Harry learned at Auror training, it was that if something seemed fishy, find out where the smell was coming from.

Harry stopped in his tracks and just continued to stare at the water, not completely at ease with the stillness of it.

"What you staring at, Harry?" Mercury asked, kneeling down and squinting at the dark water, trying to find whatever had Harry hypnotized.

Harry shushed him and continued his staring.

Suddenly, a flash of light illuminated the surface of the water and Harry's eyes snapped to the mouth of a cave that he hadn't been able to see due to the darkness of the area. Mercury couldn't quell the burst of excitement that rushed through him. He also hadn't noticed the cave before the strange light burst from it. There was finally going to be some excitement.

"Did you bring your broom with you?" Harry asked. Mercury nodded his head quickly, already pulling the broom from his backpack. Harry did the same and cast a disillusionment charm over them before they mounted their brooms.

"Stay close behind me," Harry warned before kicking off of the ground and ascending into the air.

Harry couldn't see Mercury behind him, so he hoped that he followed his orders. If things went downhill in this cave because Mercury couldn't follow simple instructions, Harry would strangle the man himself.

As they got closer to the mysterious cave, Harry could see sparks shooting out of the mouth of the cavern. He could feel the dark magic emanating from it and it sent a shiver up his spine. This definitely wasn't the doing of muggles and he was required by his job description to further explore. Before doing so, Harry sent a quick message to Ron using the charmed galleon in his pocket. He told him the coordinates of the cave and suggested the best way to get there from the Inn, in case they were already there.

They moved to the side of the cave and Harry peered inside. Harry's eyes widened. There was an intense duel going on inside between Antonin Dolohov and the old hag that Harry had questioned earlier under the bridge.

"You sold me out, you fool!" she hollered while sending a nasty-looking hex at Dolohov.

"I didn't!" he argued, holding up a shield charm.

The old hag began to start waving her wand frantically and bright blue sparks shot from the tip of it angling in every direction. Harry had to duck behind the cavern wall to escape getting hit by a stray spark. Dolohov, however, wasn't so lucky. A bright blue spark hit him on the chest and it looked like he was having trouble breathing.

"They know that you're here! How would they know where to find you, Dolohov?" she spat at him. Dolohov looked like he wanted to respond, but he couldn't get enough air in his lungs to speak. Harry knew that he would have to intervene soon if he wanted to bring Dolohov back to the Ministry alive.

Harry turned back towards where he assumed Mercury was and started giving orders.

"Okay, Mercury. As soon as we land, we have to subdue them. Things might get a bit tricky when we bring the old hag back to the Ministry because I don't think that she's a British citizen, but we'll have to deal with that later. Now, when I give the signal, I want you to move to the left of the cavern and I'll head towards the right and we'll trap them. A simple body-bind spell should do the trick, because they're not expecting anything. We don't want to maim or kill them. Got that?"

There was no response and Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "Mercury?"

Suddenly, there was a splash and a gurgled, "HARRY!"

Harry cursed silently and hoped that Dolohov and the old hag hadn't heard. No such luck.

Almost immediately, Dolohov sent a fiendfyre curse at the open of the cave and Harry's auror robes caught fire. _Shit_. Fiendfyre was nearly impossible to put out and it engulfed anything it touched into flames. Harry knew that he was done for. The flames had completely eaten away at his robes within seconds and was now torching his skin.

But, he wasn't going to go down without a fight. He had to do something. Harry's top priority was no longer the capture of Dolohov; he had to save Mercury (or at least attempt to) before he was nothing more than ashes.

Harry dived towards where he thought he heard Mercury screaming for him. As soon as Harry hit the cold water, his broom was swept away from him. He mentally cursed. He really liked that broom.

He lifted the disillusionment charm and lit a lumos with his wand. The water was too dark and murky without a light. The lumos helped very little and Harry had to dive deeper, waving his wand around, hoping that he'd be able to see where Mercury had fallen.

Suddenly, Harry felt a cooling sensation where the fiendfyre had singed his skin and could no longer hear the roaring of the fire in his ear. He turned around, startled, trying to find the cause and nearly screamed when he came face to face with a mermaid. This mermaid wasn't like the ones he saw in the Black Lake. This one had octopus legs instead of a fishtail and her hair and her hair was coral. She smiled a sharp-toothed smile and yanked Harry's arm so hard that it dislocated his shoulder.

He tugged away from her in agony. That apparently insulted her and she glared. She grabbed Harry by his foot and started to drag him towards the bottom of the ocean. Harry let out a gurgled scream as the weird mermaid/octopus hybrid bit into his leg. While the mermaid had put out the fiendfyre curse, which was a rather difficult thing to accomplish, he didn't know if he was so grateful for it anymore.

He started kicking at the weird mermaid, trying his best to get out of her clutches. She was stronger than him and his retaliation was futile. It didn't seem to even register with the mermaid.

While Harry was scuffling with the mermaid, the mermaid kicking his ass by the way, he noticed Mercury at the sea bottom, tied to the sand with seaweed. Harry, forgetting that he was a wizard with a fully-functioning wand in his hand, sent a very strong stunning spell at the sea creature, and swam towards Mercury. He grabbed the hand of his unconscious partner and swam towards the surface of the water.

With all of the adrenaline that he was experiencing, Harry didn't notice how little air he had in his lungs and how much pain he was in. The closer he got to the surface, the more he started to lose consciousness. The last thing that he remembered before passing out was how great oxygen was and how awful having saltwater in the eye was.

"Her name is Daphne," Harry told Ron, coming out of his reverie.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," Mercury said softly. "I thought I heard the sound of a woman screaming for help, so I went to investigate. Turns out, it was a sea-monster thing." Harry's eyes narrowed. He was going to give Mercury a piece of his mind, but not while he was stuck in a hospital bed. He hoped he never got assigned on another mission with Mercury as long as he lived.

"Did we get them?" Harry asked, suddenly remembering Dolohov and the old hag and their suspicious conversation in the cave.

Ron nodded. "We got to them right after they sent the fiendfyre curse. They would've apparated away if we hadn't gotten there in time."

Harry was relieved. At least him nearly dying wasn't for nothing. He felt a lot better knowing that Dolohov was behind bars. He couldn't wait to tell Hermione that the man who nearly killed her was going to finally get what he deserved.

"What of the old hag?" Harry asked.

"She's stuck at the Italian Ministry. Apparently, she's been wanted there for a few decades. She was the one teaching Dolohov necromancy. And get this, she's not an old hag at all. She was apparently a very powerful dark witch from Greece," Astro explained.

Harry leaned back on the bed and mentally cursed. He wouldn't have minded being the one bringing those two to justice, but he supposed that he should just be happy that he was alive and able to tell the story. That mission could've gone a lot worse than it did.

 **A/N: I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors. This story is currently un-beta'd, so it's a bit rough around the edges. Also, I'm not very good at writing from the perspective of males. I hope it wasn't too cringeworthy. My action scenes also leave a lot to be desired. I hope you can bear with me as I try to get better at them.**

 **Please leave a review! I love to read them. If you have any questions, I'll be glad to respond to them. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.**

 **Thank you x**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own anything. Except a crappy scooter that has a crappy gas gauge on it.**

 **Let's get right to it!**

Harry had been in the hospital for two days, but he felt like he had been there for a few weeks. His burns were almost completely healed and the venom was nearly out of his system. He was ready to see the outside world. Was the sky still blue? Was the grass still green? Were goblins still assholes? He had no idea.

Healer Alvarez walked into his room, dark blue robes flowing behind her. Every time that Harry's door opened, he hoped that he'd see long, flowing blonde hair and ice blue eyes that could freeze and warm at the same time. Ever since he was admitted to St. Mungo's, his thoughts kept venturing to Daphne; he couldn't help it. She hadn't been back to visit him since he first woke up and it bothered him.

"Well, Mr. Potter. I think that it's time for you to go home. There's nothing that we can do here that you can't do from the comfort of your own home. We'll give you the burn paste and a few potions to ensure that the venom is completely removed from your system. I'm going to firmly order that you refrain from any auror missions for two weeks. Only desk work if you can help it. Are there any questions?" Alvarez asked, her eyes skimming over her clipboard.

Harry shook his head and even though Alvarez wasn't looking at him, she continued.

"Good." Alvarez scribbled on her clipboard and once she was finished, handed the paper to Harry. He saw that they were his discharge papers. He sighed a breath of relief. He was finally getting out. Hospitals weren't his favorite place to be.

He was itching to get back into action. He became an auror so he could be out on the field and make a difference. Although, he supposed after his last mission, he could manage to handle boring paperwork.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Potter. Be sure to stay away from apparating for a few days. We wouldn't want your shoulder to pop out of place again." Healer Alvarez warned before turning around and exiting the room.

Harry couldn't believe his good luck. His injuries were pretty severe, but he didn't have to stay admitted very long. Harry was very familiar with how his luck worked; at any given moment he was either the luckiest man on the planet or the unluckiest. There was no inbetween.

As Harry was leaving St. Mungo's, he tried to keep his head down. Ever since Harry was introduced to the magical word, he'd been a celebrity, something that he'd never truly gotten used to. He was in a hurry to get home and didn't want to be stopped by people wanting to shake his hand and patting him on the back. He just wanted to lay down in his own bed or eat something that wasn't whatever St. Mungo's passed for food.

"Harry!" someone called. He cringed at the loud exclamation, but he looked for the source of the voice. He recognized it immediately; it was hard to forget the voice of someone that was as close to a sibling as he was ever going to get.

"Hermione," Harry greeted, before enveloping her in a hug after striding up to her.

"I'm sorry that I hadn't been to visit you earlier. Ron told me what happened and I figured that you'd need your rest more than anything. Wait, are you leaving right now?"

Harry nodded his head and laughed at Hermione's defeated look.

"Drat! I brought you flowers and everything," she complained before handing him a bouquet of flowers that were meant to brighten up his now vacant hospital room.

"Thanks," Harry said, still chuckling. "They'll look great in my kitchen."

"And you won't even have to water them. These flowers can survive with very little water. They're naturally found in the desert. I figured they'd be the best for you," Hermione teased. Harry couldn't argue with her. Usually, he was so busy that he barely had time to feed himself. He couldn't be expected to keep something else alive when he was having a hard enough time with himself.

"Are you hungry?" Hermione asked. "I worked through lunch so I'd be able to get off earlier so that I could visit you." Harry nodded quickly. He was in need of food that didn't taste like glue.

Harry and Hermione found themselves at a burger joint in muggle London, where they could both relax without having to worry about people gawking and asking for photos. Harry was too busy shoveling fries in his mouth and slurping down his shake to notice that Hermione was looking at him with a disgusted look on her face. When he noticed, he made a purpose to slow down. He knew how much poor table manners bothered Hermione and he didn't want to put her off of her appetite.

"So, how's work?" Harry asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand instead of using the napkin right in front of him. Hermione frowned at Harry's "Ron-like" mannerisms but broke into a smile before diving into work discussion.

"You won't believe how poorly minotaurs are treated on the continent," Hermione commented, her eyes vibrant with passion. When Hermione decided to work for the Ministry, Harry was not surprised that she decided to pursue a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the Being Division. Hermione wouldn't be herself if she weren't fighting for the equality of everyone. Harry remembered that Hermione even had a problem with the title of her job. "Regulation and Control? Stating that is demeaning in itself," she had complained.

"Aren't minotaurs a little… I don't know the proper word for this… dangerous?" Harry asked before stuffing more fries in his mouth. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Now you're starting to sound like Draco. Honestly, Harry, they're just misunderstood. You shouldn't be so judgmental. Have you ever even talked to a minotaur?" she quipped.

"No," Harry confessed. He didn't think that they could be talked to. Although, he wasn't sure that he'd be too worried about having a conversation with a man with a bull's head if he ever came into contact with one. "But you're starting to sound like Hagrid. What? Next, you're going to tell me that Blast-Ended Skrewts are really great at poetry and have a great respect for opera."

Hermione threw a handful of her fries at Harry's face and he attempted to (and failed to) catch some in his mouth.

"I didn't even know that minotaurs fall in line with your division. I thought that they'd be more Draco's, since he's in the Beast division," Harry said.

"They're in both of our divisions. It's why we've been working together so much lately," she explained. Harry couldn't help rolling his eyes and Hermione glared at him. Harry felt like that was bullshit. As much as Harry disliked Draco and would have been happier if Hermione had decided to enter a relationship with one of the minotaurs that she was fighting for, he knew that it was only a matter of time before they started to become more than friends. Harry was getting used to the fact that he'd have to get used to the fucking ferret if he wanted to continue having Hermione in his life. She was worth it.

"Anyway," Hermione continued, "They are actually fascinating people. And they CAN speak English, by the way."

"Well, I'm happy if you're happy, Hermione. Just don't wave any red capes in front of them, I suppose," Harry teased. Hermione rolled her eyes again for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "I haven't heard that one before," she said sarcastically.

"Since we're on the topic of blonde Slytherins-," Hermione started. "No, we're not," Harry interrupted before taking a big gulp of his milkshake. Harry didn't want to talk about Draco with Hermione and he definitely didn't want to talk to Hermione about Daphne. The gorgeous healer, healer-in-training, hadn't been back to visit him since he was first admitted to the hospital. Harry was stuck in a hospital bed, but she wasn't and she never came back to see him. Harry's face reddened in embarrassment as he thought of what an arse he made of himself. He was so out of his wits thanks to the drugs and he was filled with false confidence. He should've known better than to hit on her.

"She told you about that?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence. Hermione shrugged, but a smile crept on her face. "I thought we weren't talking about blonde Slytherins."

Harry rolled his eyes but then continued to stare at Hermione. He couldn't help himself. He was curious even though he was far from optimistic. He was both terrified and intrigued by whatever Hermione knew.

"It doesn't matter anyway. I bungled things up right and proper. I can't believe I asked her out on a date. I was off my rocker. You'll tell her that won't you?" said Harry, quickly losing his nerve. Harry hadn't been on a date in a very long time. So long, in fact, that he forgot what it was like to actually be on one. Ever since his breakup with Ginny, he awful, terrible breakup with Ginny, he hadn't been interested in anyone enough to pursue any form of companionship.

"No, you haven't Harry," Hermione argued. "Daphne is almost as weird about dating as you are." Harry scowled, but he couldn't argue. He was weird about dating.

"You should ask her again… you know… while you're sober and not lying broken in a hospital bed," Hermione advised. "She might actually take you seriously if that were the case."

"Yeah, but what if she still says no?" Harry asked. "Then you move on and ask someone else. That's typically how dating works," Hermione teased. Harry scoffed.

"How would you know? Where did you get your dating degree?" Hermione laughed and threw more fries at Harry's face. "I'll have you know that I've been on a few dates lately. And before you ask, they're not with Draco!" Harry didn't believe her, but he wasn't about to argue with Hermione. She was running low on fries and once she was out of them, she was liable to find another form of ammunition.

"If it means anything, I think that you and Daphne would make a really great couple. You both have quite a bit in common." Harry's ears perked up at that.

"Do we really?" Hermione nodded. "You have similar senses of humour. And you both have complex personalities."

"Are you saying that I have some sort of complex?" Harry asked, an eyebrow raised.

"NO, you prat! I'm saying that there's more to the both of you than meets the eye. Daphne is more than just a pretty face with pureblood lineage and you're not just the hero of the wizarding world; you are also a bit of a git." Harry laughed but didn't dispute with her. He knew he could be a bit of a git sometimes. It was something that he had to actively work on.

"I wouldn't even know how to go about asking her again. I wasn't in my right mind, Hermione. I don't think I would've had the guts to ask her if I weren't filled with false confidence," Harry confided. Hermione raised her eyebrows and laughed. "Well, are you a Gryffindor or aren't you? Seriously, Harry, you're an auror. You face danger whenever you wake up and go to your job every morning. But now you're afraid to ask a pretty girl out on a date?"

"I don't have the best track record with women, Hermione," Harry reminded her. Hermione frowned a bit and reached across the table and placed her hand on top of Harry's. His failed relationship with Ginny Weasley had completely slipped her mind; it was such a long time ago and there were so many things going on within her own life that their breakup almost seemed like a dream.

"Not every woman is going to be Ginny, Harry," she told him softly. Harry gripped her hand a bit tighter before letting it go. He knew that. At least on a realistic level. He just wasn't so sure that he was willing to take the chance that he could be hurt again.

"I know Daphne. She's not like that." Harry rolled his eyes. Hermione also knew Ginny. That didn't stop her from stepping out on him with a professional Quidditch player while she was away playing the game professionally.

"You should ask her, Harry," said Hermione, pulling her hand away from Harry's and reaching for her purse. "You might actually be surprised." Harry didn't really care for surprises. He'd rather regularity and knowing how things would work out. He didn't like being left in the dark.

Harry stood outside of the burger joint, confused and worried. He looked to his left; he could go home and relax, perhaps get started on the paperwork that he was sure was ceiling high. He could delude himself into thinking that he was going to talk to Daphne Greengrass another time, when it was more convenient for him. He looked to his right; or he could walk back to St. Mungo's and look like the biggest idiot on the planet by asking Daphne out on a date right then. He looked up to the sky, almost as if the answer to his problem were going to fall from it and hit him in the head.

With a sigh and a throw of caution to the wind, Harry walked towards his right, regretting his decision with every step he made but too stubborn to turn back now. Hermione was right. He had faced scarier things than this.

Harry walked back into St. Mungo's, the familiar smell of miscellaneous potions and stale salves assaulting his nose immediately. Healer Alvarez just so happened to be walking by at the moment and she stopped when she saw him, a questioning eyebrow raised.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Potter?" she asked, walking towards him and placing a hand to his forehead. "I'm fine," said Harry, taking a step back and contemplating scrapping this whole cruddy idea. "I just… I um… wanted to talk to Daph- I mean, Miss Greengrass. Healer Greengrass. Healer- In- Training Greengrass," Harry stumbled over his words. He mentally slapped himself on the forehead. What was he doing?

"Healer Alvarez, I have the paperwork on Mrs. Heart that you wanted me to get for you," the reason for Harry's racing heart said walking up to Healer Alvarez. When Daphne noticed Harry, she quickly looked at a spot on the floor, her face turning a shade of pink. Healer Alvarez took the papers from Daphne's outstretched hand and skimmed over them.

"Thank you, Greengrass. You have a visitor," and without another word, she strutted off down the hall. Daphne's blue eyes locked with Harry's emerald ones and she let a small smile take over her face. Harry took a deep breath and allowed himself to smile as well. Well, there was no turning back, he figured.

"Anything that I can help you with, Mr. Pot- Harry?" Daphne asked. Harry nodded. He felt like he just swallowed a bunch of pygmy puffs. This was a lot harder than he initially thought that this would be; and he thought it would be hard to begin with.

 **That's it for this chapter! I realize that this is moving a bit slowly, but it's my first story and I'm still trying to get in the swing of things.**

 **I'm still looking for someone to proofread my work, if anyone's willing. I'm an American, so my British slang is only what I've picked up from tv shows.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think! Shoutout to all of the followers and favoriters. I appreciate it!**

 **Thanks x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, All! How's everyone's day going? I'd like to remind you all that I'm an American and my British lingo is next to nonexistent. This story is also going un-beta'd as of right now. So, I apologize in advance for all of my crappy grammar and spelling.**

 **Special thank you to Vi38 who has reviewed all of my chapters. I really appreciate the love.**

 **I do not own Harry Potter. This story is all in good fun.**

Daphne was only two stressful minutes from from setting her closet on fire and cancelling her date with Harry. She didn't know what to wear! She didn't have anything that she deemed appropriate for a muggle movie theatre. She rarely had time to go out and actually enjoy herself so her closet was filled with clothes that were fit for a homeless man on diagon alley or clothes that would look most comfortable on Narcissa Malfoy; there was no inbetween.

Hermione suggested that she wear a cute and casual dress or a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Daphne thought that that would be simple enough to find within her own closet, but apparently, she hadn't been there in a while. Daphne held up a bedazzled scarf and contemplated choking herself with it. If her past self could see her now, she'd probably sneer and hit her in the head with one of her bunny slippers. Daphne had way too many pairs of bunny slippers; one was usually sufficient enough for the average person.

Daphne didn't have enough time to go out and get a suitable outfit for her date. If she would've known that her closet was seriously lacking, then she would've made time to get something.

Her week had been spent agonizing over this date with Harry and she could think of nothing else. How ironic that she didn't even fathom the idea that she couldn't find anything to wear. In her daydream sessions, she hadn't focused on her clothes; only on Harry's. She sighed and continued to dig through her drawers and sift through her hangers.

'Okay Daphne. Get it together. So, you've never been on a date before! So what? You can do this. Harry wouldn't have asked you out if he didn't think you were good enough, right? And he saw you in your ugly light blue robes from St. Mungo's. He still thought you were pretty, didn't you? Didn't he say that?'

Daphne gasped in surprise and glee as she pulled out a skirt from the bottom of one of her drawers. Her happiness quickly gave way to sorrow. This skirt was borrowed from Pansy Parkinson one day and was never returned. Pansy said that it would be cute on Daphne for a Hogsmeade trip one weekend, and Daphne was so uncomfortable wearing it, that she vowed to never wear it again. It was too short for her liking and made her feel exposed. She swore that she could feel every guy's eyes on her arse and she just wasn't a big fan of all of the attention.

However, there didn't seem to be much of a choice. Daphne grabbed the short floral skirt, a plain white t-shirt that she had been lucky enough to find an hour ago, and a light jacket that she had transfigured into a jean jacket for the night. Daphne took a peek at her wristwatch and nearly choked at how little time she had before Harry was due to show up.

Daphne took her hair out of the sloppy bun that she had it in and used a quick drying charm because her hair was still wet from her shower. She applied very minimal make up, a bit of mascara and a light pink lip gloss, and quickly dressed. She was looking for her other black ballet flat when she heard a knock on her front door. She cursed under her breath and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Accio stupid ballet flat," she grumbled while waving her wand. Suddenly, a number of ballet flats flew towards Daphne and she ducked just in time to miss the shoe that she was looking for from hitting her in the face.

She quickly placed it on her foot and strutted towards her front door. She took one last calming breath before opening the door. Harry stood there in jeans and a black t-shirt and she suddenly felt very self-conscious. She looked like crap and he looked great and he didn't even have to try. As soon as this date was over she was going to make plans to go clothes shopping. Her paycheck wasn't the biggest, as a healer-in-training, but who needed food when there was a clothes crisis?

Harry held out a bouquet of flowers for her and Daphne grabbed it, her face nearly breaking in half from her smile. "Hello," Harry said, mirroring her smile. "Hello! These are lovely, Harry. Do you want to come in while I find a vase to put these in?" She opened the door wider for him and Harry followed her back inside her flat.

Harry looked around the small flat and Daphne became aware of how bare it was. It barely looked lived in; well, except for her room which looked like a disaster area. Daphne thanked Merlin that she was wise enough to close her bedroom door before letting Harry in. If he saw her room, he'd quickly go running for the hills.

Daphne rummaged through her cabinets, trying to find one of the only heirlooms that she was able to snag from the Greengrass estate before disappearing. When she found her great great grandmother's vase, she filled it with water from the tap and put the flowers in it. Harry was still looking around the flat, almost as if he didn't want to look at Daphne. She wondered if it had anything to do with the way that she looked. Maybe he wasn't interested because she looked like she'd been dressed by a blind troll? Maybe he only liked her in her Healer's robes?

"You look beautiful," Harry said, finally making eye contact with her and easing her thoughts completely. Daphne smiled at him again. She hoped he really meant that and wasn't just being polite.

"Thank you, you do too! I mean, you look handsome. Not beautiful!" She flustered. Harry laughed. "I'll take beautiful," he teased. Daphne laughed along with him. "I'm sorry that I'm so flustered. I'm usually very good at keeping my cool," she told him, imploring him to believe her.

"I believe you," Harry said truthfully. "However, I'm probably going to be this flustered forever. So, I apologize in advance for that." Daphne laughed but she hoped that he was joking.

"What time is the movie?" Daphne asked. She was very curious. She had never been to a movie theatre before. She'd seen a movie at Hermione's flat once before, but Daphne had been told that going to the movie theatre and watching a movie at home wasn't the same type of experience. Daphne had liked the movie, but she wasn't sure what to expect from the movie that Harry had picked out.

"In forty-five minutes," said Harry. "It's not that far of a walk so we should get there and have enough time to buy snacks and still be able to catch the previews."

Daphne didn't know what a preview was but she nodded her head and pretended to.

"I've never been to a movie theatre before," Daphne confessed. "When you said that we should 'catch a movie' I didn't know what you meant. I had to ask around. At first I thought that you were taking me to a sporting event and that I was expected to catch something, which would only end disastrously for everyone involved."

Daphne didn't know what made her tell him that. So much for trying to keep her 'cool girl' persona. Harry chuckled.

"I'm an idiot. I should've explained better. Not much of a fan of sports?" Harry asked.

Daphne laughed and started walking towards the front door, Harry following close behind her.

"Actually, I'm probably too much of a fan. I love quidditch. I just can't play to save my life. If someone put a wand to my throat and told me to play keeper or seeker, I'd be dead in seconds. But I really enjoy watching." Harry raised his eyebrows at that. He hadn't expected her to be a quidditch fan. Harry felt a slight pang in his chest at the memory of another woman who loved quidditch.

"Who's your team?" He asked, hoping against hope that it wasn't the Holyhead Harpies. "I've actually become a big fan of the Falmouth Falcons," Daphne confessed, a small smile on her face. "A friend of mine just became the owner."

"Really?" Harry asked, eyebrows raised. "Anyone that I would know?"

Daphne shrugged. "Maybe. Blaise Zabini? He was in our year, but in my house. Although, we really didn't talk much while we were students, we've slowly become friends since graduation." Harry vaguely remembered Blaise Zabini. He was definitely one of the elitist purebloods in Slytherin, but he couldn't remember if he had taken the Dark Mark or not. He did, however, remember rumours of Blaise's mother being a black widow.

"What about you? Who's your team?" Daphne asked, as they continued to walk towards the movie theatre. She was very thankful that she decided against heels. She hadn't anticipated needing to walk, but she supposed that it made sense. After all, they were going to a muggle movie theatre.

Harry didn't really know anymore. His favorite team used to be the Holyhead Harpies, but ever since his breakup with Ginny, he usually just pulled for whoever they were going against. He knew that it was petty, but he couldn't help himself. He couldn't tell that to Daphne though.

"I don't know. I haven't kept track with quidditch lately," he lied. Daphne's eyes grew in disbelief. "Really? I thought for sure that you would be a huge quidditch fan. You were the seeker for the Gryffindor team, weren't you?" She asked, even though she was very much aware that he was.

He nodded and smiled. "The youngest seeker in over a hundred years," he said proudly.

"It's a shame that you don't follow the game anymore. All that wasted talent," she teased. "Hey, now. I might not have played in a while, but I think I could play if, as you said, there were a wand to my throat," Harry defended.

"If you weren't a seeker, which position would you have wanted to play?" Daphne asked, trying to keep conversation flowing. She noticed that the more they talked, the more relaxed she felt.

"Beater. Without question," Harry answered. "But the twins, George and Fr- Fred, were amazing. I wouldn't have been able to beat either of them for a spot." Daphne noticed the slight stammer on Fred's name but she didn't mention it.

"I always thought that I'd like to be a chaser. Seekers have too much pressure on them, keepers literally have balls flying at their faces, and beaters have to go after bludgers. I bruise much too easily for any of that," said Daphne, her nose slightly in the air.

"You know, chasers get hit with bludgers all the time," Harry said through chuckles. "I know that. And that's why I stand in the bleachers watching the game be played from the sidelines. It's just as interesting from the ground."

"I don't know about that. There's nothing like playing quidditch, you know? Being on your broom, hundreds of feet in the air, the rush of the game; it's almost too perfect," he said, a small smile on his face. Daphne looked up at him and nudged his arm with hers. "Why don't you think about joining a team? I thought that some of the different ministry departments had little games. Surely, the Auror department would be falling all over themselves trying to get the youngest seeker in over a century to join?"

Harry had seriously given a lot of thought to joining the Auror department's team and some of his fellow aurors had been very adamant about him playing, but there was so much going on in his life lately that he didn't feel that he had the time. If he were being honest, the love of the game left him with his ex-girlfriend. Quidditch was _their_ thing and it was weird to play without her.

Harry looked to be deep in thought and Daphne didn't know whether to interrupt him or not. She didn't want to be rude, but the silence was growing awkward. Daphne looked around, trying to find something to talk about. She felt that maybe quidditch, one of her few great loves, was a sore topic for Harry.

"What movie did you see?" Harry asked out of the blue. Daphne whipped her head back so that she could look at Harry. "What?"

"Earlier, you said that you saw a movie before. I was just wondering what movie it was," Harry elaborated. "Oh! It was Star Wars. I saw it with Hermione at her flat once. It was good and I really liked it, but it's the only one that I've ever seen."

"You saw Star Wars?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"I have no idea what was going on, but I liked it enough. I mean, Hermione had to explain a lot of it. I think that that might not have been the best first movie to show someone, but once I got past all of the confusing parts, I enjoyed it quite a bit," Daphne elaborated. To be honest, Daphne was more interested in the special effects of the movie than the actual plot. It was a little hard for her to follow along, but she didn't feel too bad about that; Draco was just as lost as she was.

"Are all movies like Star Wars?" Daphne asked quietly. She felt like an idiot for asking, but she wanted to be prepared just in case. Harry shook his head. "No. I don't think any movie is ever going to be quite as brilliant as Star Wars. But, movies are like books in that they have different genres. Horror, Comedy, Action, Romance; whatever you feel like watching at the moment."

"What movie are we going to see?" Daphne asked. Harry smiled. "This theatre is a vintage theatre, so they only show older movies. There will be a few showing at the same time, so I figured that you'd want to get to choose. They're all classics. I didn't want to pick a movie and then you hate it and never talk to me again."

Daphne gasped in mock offense. "Giving me options, Potter? That's not very smart of you. I'm the definition of indecisiveness. We'll be there for hours if I have to decide what we're watching. We'll miss the whole thing."

Harry smiled. "Well, damn. I wanted you to pick the movie because I'm probably just as indecisive as you are. We could be there all night figuring this out."

"I hope there will be snacks involved," Daphne teased. "I can't be expected to stay out all night making decisions without some kind of food, Potter. I am a classy lady after all."

"Of course. I can't have you using all of your energy on important decision making without any kind of sustenance. You'd wither away and how would I be able to explain your demise to Healer Alvarez? She scares me. I'm not bringing you back in the less than perfect condition I got you in."

Daphne couldn't help but laugh. Perhaps this date wouldn't be as awkward as she initially thought.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'd like to give a special thank you to all of my followers and favoriters. I feel super special because of you guys.**

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	6. Chapter 6

**Hello All! I'm sorry for the delay in updating. I've been a bit preoccupied with reading other stories and very nearly forgot to update my own!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I only own a crappy scooter that won't work properly.**

 **Also, Happy Easter for those who celebrate**

"You're joking!" Harry laughed, nearly shooting butterbeer out of his nose.

"I wish that I were," Daphne giggled back. "Oh Merlin, I can't believe that I'm even telling you this story." Daphne and Harry had such a good time on their first date that they decided to go on another and another after that. It had become a nearly regular thing for them to spend their free time together. Well, regular for them in any case. Others weren't quite as accustomed to it and so there were stares more often than not.

"Continue," Harry prodded. "I have to know what happens next!" Daphne shook her head but one look in his vibrant green eyes and words were spouting out of her words faster than she could control.

"Well, so, this guy can't even tell the difference between rosemary and devil's snare so I KNEW that he wouldn't be able to tell pixie dust apart from fairy dust. So, he's adding pixie dust to the potion, it boils over, the next thing any of us know, he has oven mittens for feet. It was the most bizarre thing I've ever experienced. But, that's what you get when you go around groping the interns. He won't be laying his hands on anyone else, I'm sure." Harry burst out into laughter again, unable to control himself.

"I can't say I feel bad for the prick. Does he still work there?" Daphne nodded slowly. "Unfortunately. But luckily, I don't do rounds with him anymore. But from what I've heard, Dr. Hands is no longer a problem, Thank Merlin. But, you can't tell anyone that story."

Harry mimed zipping his lips. "Your secret is safe with me. No worries. I'm just surprised that no one's tried to stop him before you." Daphne shrugged.

"I suppose they were afraid of the repercussions. I guess I was too angry to really think about the consequences at the moment. I'm glad I didn't; I probably wouldn't have gone through with it."

"I'll admit, it was a very Gryffindor thing to do," Harry said smiling and winking. Daphne's nose wrinkled in disgust and he laughed. Choosing not to say anything that could potentially offend the Gryffindor Golden Boy, Daphne took a sip of her butterbeer.

"Okay, Potter. Your turn. Tell me something that I don't know about you yet." Harry's forehead crinkled as he thought of a good story to tell. Harry hadn't told Daphne anything about the war or anything relating to his fame and she never asked for specifics. He'd rather not talk about any of it if he could help it. Conjuring up those memories didn't assist with his nightmares and he didn't want to scare Daphne away with his scary and dark past.

"Did I tell you about the time that I made an ass of myself on my first official auror mission?" He asked her after a few moments. Daphne placed her elbow on the table and held her head up with her hand, completely intrigued. Her pureblood mother would probably die at the sight of such horrid table manners.

"Do tell, Harry." Harry laughed and ran a hand through his untidy hair as if he were nervous.

"It's not as exciting as your story, but it is sort of funny, I guess. I was, um, on my broom. We all were on our brooms. And there was this large, pitch black ditch. Believe it or not, it's not very wise to go flying over large ditches that you can't see the bottom of, without know what's inside. So, the lead auror of the mission sent me in to investigate because he thought that I was the strongest flyer and if there was anything to get away from, I'd have the best luck at escaping. Well, anyway, instead of using a powerful lumos charm and hovering over the top, I nosedived, like a complete idiot, into the pitch black ditch."

"Then what happened?" Daphne asked, blue eyes sparkling.

"It wasn't a ditch."

"Well, what was it?" Daphne asked.

"A lake."

Daphne couldn't hold back the unlady like snort that came out of her as she laughed at Harry's misfortune.

"What's with you and water, Potter? Why can't you just stay dry on your auror missions?" Harry laughed with her and shrugged.

"I have no idea. Luckily, there were no mermpeople involved. Just a cold, dark lake that the other aurors knew about. They thought it would be funny to knock me down a peg or two." Daphne raised an eyebrow. "I can't for the life of me imagine why."

The couple were sitting at the Leaky Cauldron on their lunch breaks. Although it was more crowded than either of them would've liked, it was one of the few places that they could comfortably eat without having to leave London or having to venture into Muggle London. They sat in a more secluded corner of the bar and from Daphne's vantage point, she had a clear view of the fireplace. She turned ghost white when her sister stepped out of the green flames and dusted the ashes off of her expensive robes.

Seeing her reaction, Harry turned towards the fireplace and then turned his attention back to Daphne whose face was buried in a book on basic medical charms that she brought with her.

"Is that your sister?" Harry asked. Daphne didn't lower the book, but he could clearly hear her say "Yes."

"I'm guessing you're still not talking to her." Daphne lowered the book enough so that she could shoot a glare at Harry. "Figured that one out on your own, did you?"

"Did you want to leave?" He asked her. She nodded quickly. With that, they made their way to the door, hoping that Astoria wouldn't notice them. Daphne chanced a glance at her sister and their eyes locked right before Daphne stepped out of the doorway.

They were walking towards St. Mungo's, very closely to one another but not quite touching. Harry wanted to hold her hand, but he wasn't sure if she would like that. They had been spending quite a bit of time together, but they hadn't had much physical contact. A hug here and a kiss there, but they hadn't really done much else, especially in public on the busy streets of London.

"I'm sorry that I had to cut lunch short. I'm just not ready to deal with her yet. I can't imagine that she'd ignore me if she saw us there together," Daphne explained.

"Don't worry about it."

"Really, Harry! I'd like to make it up to you, if you'd let me." Harry stopped in his tracks and stared at Daphne. "What did you have in mind?" Harry could feel his face heating up. He was having a hard time keeping his naughty thoughts at bay.

"Well, I've been cooking more. Well, attempting to anyway. And I was wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner tonight. I think I can make edible lasagna if you'd like that."

"You think? You're not sure?" Harry teased. Daphne rolled her eyes and stifled a laugh. "I guess if I accidentally kill you, then I'll have to change up the recipe a bit, won't I? So, what do you say? Willing to take the risk?"

Harry had been in Daphne's flat a few times. But, he was never there for long. He was very curious to see what would happen between them if they were behind closed doors. He couldn't help himself. He loved all of the time that he had been spending with Daphne, but they never got to spend much of it alone without onlookers. He would give his glasses if it meant that he could be alone with her. Well, maybe not his glasses because he'd definitely want his vision for whatever happened.

"Okay," Harry said, clearing his throat, trying to clear his thoughts as well. Daphne beamed brightly at him. "Great. Be at my place at 7:30?" Harry nodded and smiled. They continued walking to St. Mungo's and this time, Harry didn't stop himself from holding her hand. Harry pretended that it wasn't a big deal for him and Daphne pretended that she wasn't mentally freaking out at the cute gesture.

At 7:25 that night, Daphne was taking the garlic bread out of the oven and smiled in triumph at the smell. The lasagna was finished, the salad had been tossed, and Daphne looked flawless. Thanks to the wards that were set up around Daphne's flat, she knew that Harry was early. Still, he had made no move to knock on the door to let his presence known. Daphne set the garlic bread down on the table and walked towards the door. With one last calming deep breath, she opened the door to see Harry standing on the other side. He was wearing muggle jeans and a simple red t-shirt, but he looked damned good in Daphne's humble opinion.

"I knew that Gryffindor bravery of yours wouldn't keep you away," Daphne teased before letting him in.

"I said that I'd come by," he told her, holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. Daphne smiled, took the flowers from Harry and placed them in the Greengrass vase.

"Still, I thought you might be a bit of a coward. I'm glad to say that I was mistaken." Harry laughed. He was many things, but a coward wasn't one of them.

"It smells really good in here," Harry told her while handing her the bottle of wine that he picked up just for the occasion. He didn't know the first thing about buying fancy wine. He knew that if one drunk enough of it they could have the worst headache the next day, but he wasn't sure of brands and years. He wanted to impress Daphne, so he had to ask around the Auror department for something that pureblood witches might like. It was expensive, but the look of delight on Daphne's face when she looked at the bottle was worth it.

"Thanks. Do you mind opening this while I fix our plates? This would go perfectly with dinner. I didn't know that you knew anything about wine," she told him before handing him the bottle of wine and stepping back over to the food. "I don't really," he confessed as he watched her cut the lasagna and place it on two plates.

"I had to ask around." "Well, I can see that it paid off. This is actually my favorite elvish wine."

Dinner went off without a hitch. The wine flowed and the food was delicious. Daphne couldn't remember a time that she felt so happy and laughed so much. The butterflies that were usually flying around in Daphne's stomach whenever she was around Harry weren't as active. She was finally getting comfortable being in his presence. She was able to just talk to him without stumbling over her words or getting lost in his eyes. She was finally making progress.

After dinner, they shared a bowl of gelato that Daphne had bought for dessert while sitting in Daphne's living room. They sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company and the delicious chocolate gelato.

"Daphne?" Daphne looked up from the bowl, her mouth almost comically filled with gelato. "Yes?" She asked, once she swallowed. "There's a Quidditch game coming up. The Falmouth Falcons against the Chudley Cannons. I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go with me."

Daphne was super conflicted. On the one hand, she loved watching quidditch games. She loved the atmosphere and the adrenaline. She loved the trash talking and the snacks. But, she didn't want to scare Harry away. She could be intense at times.

"A few of the guys from the Auror Department are going and we're going to get a block together. I just figured, you know, since you like the Falmouths that you'd want to come along. You don't have to if you don't want to. I mean, we can go another time." Harry started to back peddle the longer Daphne sat in silence.

"I'd love to go, Harry," Daphne said honestly. "It sounds like a lot of fun."

"I have to warn you though, Ron will be there," said Harry. Daphne's eyes widened. Of course he'd be there. She remembered Harry saying in passing that Ron liked the Chudley Cannons. While she had never met Ron, she knew of him from both Hermione and Harry. They had very different opinions of the red-headed gryffindor, but they agreed that he could be very hotheaded.

"Does he know about me?" Daphne asked. "I mean, about you and me and our… friendship?"

Harry laughed and nodded his head. "I've told him about you. He knows about our… friendship," Harry teased. Daphne laughed.

"Don't make fun of me. We've never talked about labels and we've never defined our relationship. What was I supposed to say?" She huffed. Harry placed the gelato bowl down on the coffee table in front of Daphne's sofa. He turned his body so that it was angled towards her.

"Is that what you want? Do you want to define our relationship?" He asked her seriously. Daphne could feel her face heat up and the butterflies make a sudden reappearance.

"It would make things a bit easier, wouldn't it?" She shrugged.

Harry smiled and leaned towards her, cupping her face in his hands. Their eyes locked on one another and neither were in the mood to look away from the other.

"I really like you, Daphne. A lot. I think it would be really swell if you were my girlfriend."

Daphne snorted in laughter and broke their eye contact. Harry paled in embarrassment, but kept her face in his hands. He wasn't sure if he could move them even if he wanted to. He was literally frozen in embarrassment.

"Did you just say "swell"?" Daphne asked between giggles. Harry smiled and laughed along with her. "What's wrong with the word "swell"?"

"So many things, Harry. So very many things." "Well, Gee- Willickers, Daphne, I don't know what to say about that," he said, making her snort in laughter again. Before he could stop himself, he pressed his lips against hers, silencing Daphne's giggles.

They had kissed before, but this kiss was different. It wasn't nervous. It wasn't afraid. It was warm and comfortable. It felt like gelato tasted. Daphne kissed him back, tangling her hair in his untidy hair. She didn't have much experience with kissing, but it was quickly becoming a favorite hobby of hers. Harry's lips moved against hers and she felt herself getting lost in the moment. She had no idea how long they sat on the sofa and she didn't care to wonder.

When Harry pulled away from her and she could finally catch her breath Daphne smiled brightly at him.

"Being your girlfriend would be swell," she told him before pulling him into another passionate kiss.

 **I should mention, this story will have quite a bit of drama and action involved. There will be dark moments and fluffy moments. I know it's starting off a bit slow, but I encourage you to stick with it.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think! If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.**

 **Special thanks to those who are following and favoriting!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, All! I'm updating again because I was too happy not to.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except a scooter that STILL isn't fixed.**

 **A special thank you to BurningDay, fuzzy6, and Vi38. A very very special thank you to SoapOpera! This reader reviewed 6 times and it completely made my night. Thank you all so much! So, without further ado, let's begin.**

"It's not that funny," Daphne grumbled as Hermione tried to stifle her laughter and failed miserably.

Daphne and Hermione were sitting at a muggle cafe in London after work. Daphne and Hermione tried to keep a weekly visit with each other to catch up with one another, but they had just been so busy lately that they had fallen behind with their meetings.

"You have to admit that it's a little funny, Daphne. I mean, I would pay a pretty galleon to see you interact with Ron," said Hermione before taking a sip of her tea. Daphne sighed as she stirred in more sugar into her own cup. Daphne had been worrying over the impending quidditch match that she was going to see with Harry. Harry had never introduced her to any of his friends and meeting Ron was a big deal. Even though her official "girlfriend" label was new, her relationship with Harry had been going on for nearly a month. She wanted Ron to like her, or at the very least not hate her. But, the more that she heard about the hotheaded redhead, the less sure she became that that would happen.

"I figure that if I'm just very polite then he'll-," Daphne was interrupted with Hermione's laughter. Daphne rolled her eyes and Hermione quieted her giggles again.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I just don't think that that's going to work." "Well, what do you suggest I do? I want Ron to like me, Hermione. If he doesn't then it could complicate things." Hermione thought for a moment while drinking her tea.

"I don't know." Daphne gasped. That wasn't something that Hermione said very often. She always knew what to do. And she was always giving her opinion and advice whether it was asked for or not. The one time that Daphne wanted, no needed, Hermione's wisdom and she didn't have any.

"It's going to take some time. More time than you're going to be comfortable with, if I'm honest. Ron can be difficult and he can be very protective of Harry. He's not going to like you immediately, regardless of how charming and sweet you are. You're a Slytherin and a pureblood and even though he's never met you, I'm sure he has an opinion of you and it's going to take some time for him to let go of that opinion" Hermione confessed. Daphne slumped down in her chair, disregarding the perfect posture that was drilled into her from a young age.

"But that's not fair," Daphne grumbled. Hermione laughed and patted her hand across the table.

"I know. But, that's just how Ron is. He's great when you get to know him and he's even better when he's a friend. He's loyal, and honest, and funny, it's just… getting to that point that's going to be the problem."

Daphne crossed her arms over her chest and started to pout. Why would Harry be friends with such a judgemental prick in the first place? Daphne was sick and tired of people judging her based off of an incorrect assumption from her Hogwarts days. It wasn't right and it wasn't fair. It just wasn't.

"Harry knows this already. He knows that Ron is going to be difficult, I assure you."

"Then why does he want me to meet him?" Daphne asked.

"Because Ron is his best friend and he's hoping for the best. It's the same reason why I've tried to get Draco and Harry together. The little interaction that they've had with each other has been snide remarks and petty hexes. It's annoying, frustrating, and stupid. But, that's not going to stop me from trying to get them to at least be cordial. I want my friends to get along."

"Yes, because Draco is _just_ a friend, right?" Daphne said before taking a sip of her tea. Hermione's face reddened but she didn't respond to the remark. Daphne, among quite a few others, felt that Hermione and Draco were either in a secret relationship or on the cusp of one. She actually had a bet going with Blaise Zabini. Which reminded her…

"I haven't even told Blaise that I'm going to be at the game. Do you think that I should?" Daphne asked her friend. Hermione sighed, glad that the attention was no longer on her.

"Sure. Why not?" "Because then I'd have to introduce him to Harry. I mean, I know that Blaise probably isn't as important to me as Ron is to Harry, but he's still my friend. I should introduce them, right?" Daphne asked, very unsure. Blaise was charming, but he was definitely a Slytherin through and through. It might rub Harry the wrong way and would definitely chafe Ron.

"Hmmm. I'm not sure how well that would go. If you were just introducing him to Harry, sure. But Ron… is a die hard Cannons fan. It could get messy introducing him to the Falmouths owner, couldn't it?" Daphne bit her lip. "I suppose. Maybe I'll just introduce everyone at another time. Not at a quidditch match, you know?"

"Does Blaise even know about Harry? Does Theo?" Hermione asked. Daphne shrugged. She wasn't actually sure. She hadn't gone out of her way to tell them anything, but those two had a habit of knowing things without anyone telling them anyway. Blaise was busy owning his own quidditch team and Theo worked in the Department of Mysteries. They only ever really saw each other if Hermione was having something at her house and they were all invited. She liked them well enough, much more than she did while they were still in school, but she wasn't sure if they were close enough to divulge relationship details to them.

"I'm sure. I feel like everyone knows at this point. We spend our lunches together, we hold hands in public. We're not hiding or anything."

"I'm surprised you haven't ended up in Witch Weekly yet," Hermione said under her breath. Daphne giggled. In the past, a camera man had snapped a picture of Hermione and Draco walking around London together. It ended up on the front cover of the trashy magazine and Hermione was mortified. That picture caused a lot of unnecessary drama.

"I wouldn't know if we were in it or not. I don't read that rubbish." Daphne had finished her tea and was now nibbling on a biscuit. "Speaking of rubbish, did I tell you that I saw my sister the other day?"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. "And how did that go?"

"It didn't go. As soon as I saw her step into the Leaky Cauldron, Harry and I scrambled out of there. I really don't have anything to say to her and I didn't want her to approach and embarrass me in front of Harry."

"Have you talked to her since the howler?" Hermione asked. Daphne shook her head quickly. After that picture was plastered on every Witch Weekly magazine in England, Astoria sent a howler to Daphne screaming at her about betrayal and loyalty and how dare she be friends with a mudblood! Especially a mudblood who stole her betrothed from her! Instead of replying with a howler of her own and informing her younger sister that Draco Malfoy wanted nothing to do with her and never did, she took the high road and ignored her. It bothered Daphne that the first time that Astoria decided to reach out to her, it had been about Draco and not about rekindling a relationship with her.

Thinking about Astoria always put Daphne in a bad mood. She needed to change the subject.

"Has Draco gotten his head out of his arse yet?"

"I don't know what you mean?" Hermione said a bit too quickly.

"Oh come on, Hermione! I told you about Harry!"

"Yes. And it was weird. Harry's the closest thing that I have to a brother. He _is_ my brother. I don't want to hear about how good of a kisser her is." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Draco is definitely not my brother. It's not weird to talk to me about him. It's not nice to keep hot relationship gossip from your best friend, you know? It could kill you. I know. I'm a healer."

Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes. Between the two young women, someone's eye was bound to roll out of their heads and onto the floor.

"There's really nothing to tell. I wish there were, but there isn't. Draco and I probably aren't going to happen. We're just friends." Hermione's smile faltered into a small frown and her eyes watered a bit. Daphne reached across the small table and grabbed Hermione's hand in comfort. She immediately regretted bringing Draco up. She had no idea that it was such a sore subject, but she supposed she should've picked up on Hermione's reluctance to talk about him.

"I have an idea! Why don't we go back to my place? I have some leftover lasagna and this gelato that is absolutely phenomenal." Hermione looked up at Daphne a small smile playing at her lips.

"If I go, are you going to try and snog me?" She teased. Daphne winked. "Let's not knock anything out just yet."

-x-

That Saturday, Daphne was wearing her Falmouth Falcons jersey and shorts with a pair of sunglasses sitting on her face. It wasn't very sunny that day. It was actually very cloudy, muggy, and stifling. But, Daphne felt the sunglasses were appropriate, in the case that she made an ass of herself. No one would recognize her, which was the hope at least.

Harry was wearing a Chudley Cannons jersey as he held her hand and Daphne had to refrain from sneering at him whenever she looked at him. He said that he really didn't care which team won, but he had been given the jersey as a present and so had worn it. Daphne made a mental note to buy him a Falcons jersey; she couldn't have her boyfriend walking around looking like an idiot afterall.

They were walking towards the stadium from the apparition point when a tall redhead spotted them. He strode over with his long legs and Harry's hold on her hand tightened for a fraction of a second. Daphne thought that Harry might be a bit nervous about this as well.

"Ron, this is Daphne. Daphne, Ron," said Harry, his hand progressively tightening on her hand.

Ron took one look at her jersey and raised an eyebrow. Daphne repressed the desire to do the same. Instead she smiled and held her hand out to him. "Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"A lot of people have," he grumbled, but shook her hand in greeting.

They continued walking towards the giant stadium, Harry and Ron were deep in conversation, talking about things that Daphne had no context about. She didn't want to be rude and interrupt them, but she was feeling a bit left out.

When they sat down and waited for the game to start, Harry had barely shown her any attention. She assumed that maybe she and Harry had spent so much of their free time together that Ron was being neglected and so he was making up for lost time. That would explain it, wouldn't it? She didn't like to be ignored, but she figured that it couldn't last for much longer.

She looked to her left and saw an Auror in the Auror block staring at her with a smirk on his face. He winked at her and Daphne scoffed. She was technically on a date for Merlin's sake. The slime ball could have a bit of decency.

He scooted down and took the empty seat next to her and Daphne sighed in irritation. She really didn't want to deal with this guy.

"Hello, beautiful," he greeted. Daphne nodded her head at him and then turned her attention to the empty quidditch pitch. He seemed oddly familiar. She wondered if he knew her from Hogwarts. He definitely wasn't a Slytherin in any case.

"Nice jersey," he complimented. Daphne took a look at his bright orange jersey and sneered.

"I can't same the same for you." He laughed and shrugged.

"I'm actually pulling for the Falcons today. But, all of the guys in the department are Cannons fans. So, you know, peer pressure and all that." Daphne nodded her head even though she could care less.

"You work at St. Mungo's don't you?" He asked her, still pushing for conversation. She nodded her head, still refusing to give him one.

"I was there visiting Harry when he had his accident," he said. Well, that explained the nagging feeling of familiarity. She didn't get many details about that particular mission. She felt that Harry wasn't really allowed to talk about it, but he gave her a watered down explanation.

"I've just got to say, I think you're the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid my eyes on." Daphne rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. On the one hand she wanted to retort that the man must not get out very much at all. On the other hand, she wanted to say "of course I'm the most gorgeous woman you've ever laid eyes on. I'm fucking perfect." Instead of saying either of those things she decided to bite her tongue.

"What's your name?" He asked her. "Greengrass," she said quickly. "That's an odd name for your parents to name you." Daphne laughed a humorless laugh. "That's because it's a surname. They didn't have much choice in the matter."

The guy must've gotten the hint because he stopped all conversations. Daphne stared out at the pitch and mentally grumbled. This guy next to her was giving her more attention than her own date; the only guy that she wanted to give her attention.

"I'm going to go get snacks," Daphne said, suddenly standing up. She couldn't stand being there a second more. She needed some space. Harry and Ron looked up at her.

"Oh, okay. Did you want me to come with you?" Harry offered. But Daphne was too angry to comply.

"No," she snapped. "I can do it alone." Before she turned around to leave, she saw Ron chuckle which only made her angrier. She stomped out of the stands and towards the concession stands.

While she was waiting in line, she heard a deep voice from behind her.

"That's a nice jersey you have there, Daphne." She turned around to see Blaise Zabini behind her in line, a smirk on his face.

Daphne looked at her jersey without even thinking and saw that it had been charmed into a Chudley Cannon's jersey. She shrieked in anger and surprise and tried to tear it off of her. Blaise laughed but held her arms at her sides.

"As much as I'd love a Daphne peep show, you'd hate me later if I didn't stop you."

Daphne huffed before charming her jersey back to its original Falmouth dark grey jersey.

"That's much better," Blaise commented.

"What are you doing here?" Daphne asked.

"I own the team, Daphne," he told her, a smirk still on his face.

"I know that. I mean, what are you doing in line? Shouldn't you be having your food catered while sitting in your fancy owner's box?"

"Well," he said, picking a piece of lint off of his nice muggle suit, " I heard that you might be here and I'm just dying to meet the bloke that you're here with."

 **Another chapter in the bag! I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. I definitely enjoyed writing it! I know that I updated yesterday, but I got way more reviews than I'm used to, so I just couldn't stop myself.**

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	8. Chapter 8

**Hello All! I'm glad to see that you're back for the 8th chapter! I hope you all enjoy it, because I enjoyed writing it!**

 **Please be aware that I'm an American so my British lingo is shit. Bear with me.**

 **Also, this story is not being beta'd. All mistakes are my own.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but a really crappy scooter that my boyfriend wishes he could throw into the dumpster.**

 **A special thank you to BurningDay, Vi38, fuzzy6, kyuzo3567, Anarchy in Dark Places, and Soap Opera for their reviews.**

"You've heard about that, then?" Daphne asked.

"Yes. As have quite a few people. I hope you weren't trying to keep your relationship a secret. You failed miserably," Blaise teased.

"I wasn't trying to keep him a secret. I just didn't know how to… I didn't think that anyone would really care. It's not that big of a deal," Daphne tried to explain. She really didn't have a strong reasoning for not telling anyone about Harry.

"How about 'guess who I'm shagging, Blaise?'" Daphne rolled her eyes and crinkled her nose. "Don't be crass, Blaise." Blaise laughed.

"Daphne, we're not in school anymore. We're friends. You can talk to me about these things. I actually like knowing what's going on with my friends."

"I'm not used to having male friends. So, I don't know how I'm supposed to deal with you or befriend you. You don't want to talk about fashion or makeup." Blaise rolled his eyes, a nasty habit that everyone had picked up from Hermione.

"I seriously doubt that Hermione wants to talk to you about fashion or makeup."

"Fair point. But still…"

"Where is Saint Potter?" Blaise asked suddenly looking around for the bespeckled auror. Daphne grimaced and turned her attention to the line leading up to the refreshments. She took a few steps with Blaise following behind her.

"Sitting with his date I assume," she grumbled.

"I know that we rarely talk anymore, but I thought that you were his date. Have I been out of the loop so long that I've lost my talent for gossip?" He teased. Daphne laughed and shook her head slowly. While they stood in line, Daphne quickly and quietly caught Blaise up on the day; from her awkward meeting with Ron to the auror who was nearly slobbering over her.

"See? This is why you should've told me that you'd be here. Then you could be sitting in the owner's box with Draco, Theo, and I."

"But, I'm here on a date with Harry. Even though, I'm not really sure that it's a date anymore. I'm kind of just tagging along and pretending that I'm somewhere else at this point," Daphne confessed.

"That's depressing," Blaise commented. "You're hilarious during quidditch games. Remember that one time that you nearly tackled that man last year during the Spain vs France game? One of the best days of my life. That man was easily a half-giant and you tried to take his head off. Hilarious."

"I'm glad that I entertain you," Daphne said fighting a smile.

When they got to the front, Daphne ordered pumpkin pasties, ice mice, and a few sugar quills from the Honeydukes concession. Blaise paid for it all even though Daphne was fully capable of buying it herself. She fought him on it, but her hands were so full with her treats that she couldn't get her money out of her pockets fast enough.

Blaise insisted on walking her back to her seats and Daphne refused. She knew that it was because he wanted her to introduce him to Harry. They stood and argued for a while and Blaise reminded her the game was about to start and she was going to miss the opening if she continued being so difficult.

Daphne stomped towards her seat with Blaise smiling gleefully following behind her. When she got back, Harry, Ron, and the nameless auror all looked up at her.

"Great, you're back. I think they're about to star-," Harry's eyes ventured from Daphne to Blaise and he stopped midsentence.

"Harry, this is my friend, Blaise Zabini. He's the owner of the best quidditch team in the world. Blaise, this is my boyfriend Harry Potter and his friend Ron Weasley." Ron's eyes widened at the term "boyfriend". Daphne guessed that he didn't know about the new relationship status.

"I didn't know that you owned the Chudley Cannons, Zabini," said Ron.

"I'm not. I own the Falcons. I'm assuming that you're the genius behind the charm on Daphne's jersey. No, worries. It was fixed before anyone important could see her looking so foolish," Blaise teased. Daphne shot Blaise a look and he smirked back at her. She knew that he was only teasing, but she wasn't sure that Ron would pick up on his playfulness. She worried that he might get offended.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you," Harry said standing up and holding his hand to Blaise. Blaise shook it and gave him a charming smile.

"We're going to the Three Broomsticks after the game. You guys should come meet us," Blaise suggested. Daphne's eyes widened a fraction for a second and Blaise smiled widely at her. He was trying to throw Harry into the snakepit.

"Uh, sure," Harry said unsure.

"NO!" Daphne nearly screamed.

"Oh, be fair Daphne. After all, you are meeting Harry's friends today. You should give him the opportunity to meet your friends too, right? We'll be nice."

"I want to meet your friends," Harry told her, although Daphne wasn't sure if he was being completely honest with her or not.

"Then it's settled. I'll see you later." Blaise turned to leave but before he could get far he turned towards the nameless auror who Daphne could officially say she didn't like.

"If you're going to eye fuck your co-worker's girlfriend, at least be discreet so no one notices it. Have a bit of class." The nameless auror's eyes widened to saucers before he turned his attention to Harry, his mouth gaping like a fish. Harry's eyebrows knit together in annoyance and the nameless auror got up to go set with other aurors a few rows above them.

Daphne sat down in her seat and Harry, who was still standing from meeting Blaise also sat down.

"We don't have to go to the Three Broomsticks," she told Harry. "It's probably going to be pretty crowded and-,"

"Do you not want me to meet your friends?" Harry asked. Daphne sighed. She did… eventually. After she could threaten her friends into being on their best behavior. She wasn't properly prepared for this.

"I do. But, my friends can be a bit… much. Draco will be there and I know that he's not your favorite person. I know you probably don't know Theo, and he's definitely more calm than Draco and more tactful than Blaise, but he can be pretty cruel if he's in the mood and-,"

"Then why are you friends with them?" Harry asked. Daphne wanted to tell him because she was just like them. She was just as protective as Blaise. She was just as cunning as Draco. She was just as cold as Theo. But she liked Harry and Harry wouldn't like a girl that was any of those things.

"I don't know," she lied. Harry was silent for a while before he smiled at Daphne.

"I still want to meet them. They're your friends. And they're Hermione's friends. If you both see something in them, then I'd like to see it too. Besides, what the worst that could happen?"

Daphne slapped her hand to her forehead and groaned.

"Really? Did you really just ask that?"

"Ask what?" Harry asked, completely oblivious.

"What's the worst that could happen? You just jinxed this entire day." Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"I don't believe in jixes and taboos. You know that."

"I can't for the life of me understand why. You're the luckiest guy in the world!" Harry smiled at her.

"I really am," he said before leaning over and kissing her. Daphne smiled into the kiss and nearly sighed in delight. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad afterall.

-x-

"This is your last chance to back out of this Potter. There's no going back after this," Daphne warned. They were standing outside of the Three Broomsticks, her hand firmly in his. He smiled down at her and shrugged. He was acting way too relaxed for Daphne's comfort.

They stepped inside the bar and Daphne's eyes immediately spotted Draco's signature hair. She tightened her hold on Harry and walked over to the table in the corner.

Draco's eyes shot up to Daphne and she could see a mischievous glint in them. She shot him a warning glare, promising years of torture if he ruined this for her.

"Good game today, right Greengrass?" Draco asked. Daphne smiled and sat down. Harry sat down in the seat next to her.

"Fantastic game. But was there ever any doubt? I mean really?" Blaise said, even though the question wasn't aimed at him.

"I believe there was. The Cannon's seeker was pretty close quite a few times. You nearly pulled all of your hair out. Surely you remember that?" Theo teased. Blaise glared but Theo pretended not to notice.

"Harry, this is my friend Theo Nott. He was also in Slytherin with Draco, Blaise, and I," Daphne said. Harry nodded his head. He remembered Theo. Blaise might not have been marked, but Theo definitely had the dark mark on his arm. Harry looked and saw that Theo was wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Theo noticed the glance and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you," Harry said, a little embarrassed that he had been caught trying to see the Dark Mark.

"You don't have to lie, Potter. We all know that you don't want to be here," Draco said snidely. Daphne shot him a glare but Harry laughed.

"I do want to be here. Although, it would be better if Hermione were here. It's kind of weird seeing you without her after only seeing you following her around like a lost puppy for months."

Blaise laughed and Theo smirked while Draco's face reddened. Daphne hadn't told Harry about the new development that she had gotten from Hermione about her and Draco's relationship or lack thereof.

"That bother you, Potter?" Draco asked him.

"Nope. Hermione's a very capable witch. I don't have to worry about her."

"I'm sure The Weasel doesn't feel the same way," Draco commented. Harry shrugged.

"I don't know. That's something that you'd have to ask him."

"Harry, do you think that you could get me a drink?" Daphne asked him, batting her long eyelashes at him. She was going to stop that conversation before it could get out of hand. Harry turned his attention to her and smiled.

"Sure. What do you want?" After Daphne told him to get her a butterbeer, he headed to the bar. She smiled at his back until he was well out of earshot.

"If you fuckers ruin this for me, I will ruin your lives, understand? I will string you up by your toes and beat the ever living shit out of you. I will break everything that you own," she threatened.

"Woah, Daphne! You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Blaise laughed. If looks could kill, Blaise's face would've melted off.

"You know she doesn't," Theo said. "Now what she uses her mouth for with Potter is a completely different story."

Daphne gasped as the Slytherin around her laughed.

"Oh, please. Don't act prim and proper now," Draco teased. "Not after the verbal lashing you just gave us. I, for one, am appalled that you would think that we'd be anything less than on our best behaviour."

"You brought up Ron," Daphne reminded him.

"Only after he brought up Hermione," Draco said back.

"He's allowed to do that. They're friends too, Draco." Draco rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else on the matter.

"Daphne," Blaise started, "just let us have this. We're going to make you both very uncomfortable and then things can go back to normal." "But, why? Why do you have to do this?"

"Because it's fun?" Blaise answered. Draco nodded in agreement, a smile back on his face. Daphne looked to Theo for help. Theo had more sense than those two combined. Surely, he'd help her.

"Don't look at me. This is the reason why I never bring my girlfriend around these two. I'd really rather not deal with the inevitable shit storm," said Theo before taking a sip of his firewhiskey. Daphne raised her eyebrow. She didn't know that Theo had a girlfriend.

"You can't keep her hidden from us forever," Draco said. "You're going to slip up one day and then the girlfriend will be out of the bag. And really, you're not being fair. You've all met Hermione."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that Hermione was your girlfriend," Theo said bluntly. Draco's face turned red and his eyes shot down to the table.

"Besides, if memory serves me well, you _definitely_ didn't want us to meet Hermione. I'm sure the threat of "hexing our balls off" was thrown around a quite a bit," Blaise said.

"I'm asking you all as friends," Daphne started, bringing the attention back to herself and the matter at hand. Harry was on his way back to the table and she still didn't have the situation sorted. "Please don't ruin this for me. I really like Harry quite a bit. I'll never forgive you if you muck this up for me."

All three of them laughed, which definitely didn't settle well with Daphne. She huffed in frustration and crossed her arms in annoyance.

Harry sat down after giving Daphne her drink. He smiled at her and Daphne couldn't help but smile back at him.

"What did I miss?" Harry asked. "Nothing of importance," Daphne said quickly, before anyone could fill him in.

"So, how was your first time sitting next to Daphne during a quidditch match, Potter?" Draco asked. Draco had only attended a quidditch match with Daphne a few times, but that was enough for him to witness what kind of monster she really was.

"Umm…" Harry looked to Daphne for verification. Daphne rolled her eyes and nodded.

"It's okay. If you told them that I was a perfect lady during the match they wouldn't believe you anyway. You can tell them."

"I was a bit worried for her safety. She was surrounded by Aurors, the majority of us Cannons fans, but that didn't stop her from talking shit. She was brutal. One of my teammates, Mercury, actually left during the middle of the game. Ron thinks that he went to the bathroom to cry. It was actually pretty funny."

"You know, there's only one version of Daphne that's even more fun than Quidditch Monster Daphne," Blaise told Harry. Daphne's eyes widened to the size of saucers and Daphne quickly shook her head, trying to stop Blaise before he could say too much.

"Drunk Daphne," Theo supplied. Daphne shot him a glare and he only smiled back at her.

"Really?" Harry asked, eyebrows raised. He turned to Daphne whose face was red. She shrugged it off as if it wasn't a big deal and Harry laughed. He couldn't fathom Daphne drunk, but he suddenly very curious to see it in person.

Daphne realized that this wasn't an attack on Harry; this was an attack on her. They weren't going to threaten Harry with the stereotypical "if you break her heart, we'll…" bullshit. They were going to embarrass her by rehashing memories of Daphne when she wasn't her absolute best. She only hoped that they wouldn't bring up the Excalibur story.

"Wait until we tell you the Excalibur story!" Draco said brightly, his eyes locked on Daphne's.

Daphne shook her head in annoyance, but she couldn't help but think that this could've gone in a worse direction. She'd rather be the butt of the joke than have Harry be the target of assault.

 **I hope you all liked Chapter 8. I know that Daphne's relationship with the boys might be a little weird, but it works for them. NO worries, she will get her revenge. Her relationship with Harry will evolve during the story as will her relationship with the Slytherin boys.**

 **Please review! I LOVE to get reviews and I feel like people are more tempted to read a story if it has a lot of reviews. So, any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave them in a review. I try to respond to as many as I can.**

 **A special thank you to all of the followers and favoriters that I have. As I type this I have 42 followers and 19 favorites for this story!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, All! I hope your weekend went well!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I only own a scooter with a working brake light (FINALLY)**

 **Shout outs: I'd like to give a special thank you to my reviewers!**

 **Wolf970, BurningDay, SoapOpera, Kamil the Awesome, Vi38, Elevorn, Ronin Kenshin, fuzzy6, Jiggly Joe, Awesomeace18, HaywireEagle, Raven097, harryislife, trispectrum, and Kagemaru Raiden.**

"Your friends are nice," said Harry, holding Daphne's hand as they walked back to Daphne's flat. It was dark out, but quite peaceful. After a hectic day at the quidditch game, it was nice to be alone on such a nice night.

"You don't have to lie to me, Harry. I know that they're awful," Daphne said honestly. Harry laughed and scratched the back of his head with the hand that wasn't currently holding Daphne's.

"Okay. Well, they're not as bad as I thought they'd be," said Harry. It was Daphne's turn to laugh. She had the same thought. Although they spent most of their time at the pub making fun of Daphne, it could've been a lot worse. She knew that it was all out of fun and not meant to actually cause her stress. Still, that wasn't going to stop her from exacting her revenge at her earliest convenience.

"You and Draco were able to refrain from hexing each other at the table, which was quite nice," Daphne teased. Harry laughed.

"Well, he wasn't so bad tonight, I suppose. What did you think of Ron?" Harry asked her, even though he already knew the answer to that.

"He doesn't like me."

"That's not true," Harry lied. Daphne raised an eyebrow at Harry and he averted his eyes.

"He just doesn't know you that well. That's all." For a week, Harry had been trying to soften Ron up for his meeting with Daphne. He hadn't been this excited about a girl since Ron's sister, and Ron noticed that.

Then, there were weird meetings going on within the Auror department with the top Aurors. It had everyone on edge and tense. Harry's curiosity was getting the better of him.

He supposed that that was the reason he had accidentally forgotten to mention that Daphne was now his girlfriend. He didn't miss Ron's surprised reaction, and he mentally slapped himself in the forehead. Even though he had been talking about how great Daphne was, how funny she was, how smart she was, he forgot to mention their evolving relationship.

"He'll come around eventually," Harry said, mostly to himself. Daphne smiled up at him and he couldn't help but smile back at her. She had an infectious smile, even though she rarely did it.

They walked back to Daphne's apartment, hand in hand, talking about the Quidditch game. Daphne made sure to rub Harry's nose in the fact that his team had lost spectacularly (something that would've pissed him off if it were anyone other than Daphne).

"And did you see the maneuvering of the Keeper? I mean, she was amazing! It was like she was a snitch herself, she was so fast," Daphne gushed, her eyes alight.

"You should really think about getting back on a broom," Harry commented as they approached her flat.

"I've told you, I'm a danger to myself in anyone within the city if I am on a broom," Daphne retorted.

"You've said that, but I'm not so sure. Maybe if I just-," "Harry, no! Believe me, the Auror department will fire you for endangering an entire city like that. Think of the children!"

Harry and Daphne laughed until they reached the door of Daphne's flat. Daphne sighed and turned her body towards his. She stared up at him expectantly, but he seemed nervous. Something had been on his mind for a few hours, but things had been going so well that he was afraid that he would ruin the day by bringing it up.

"So, what was up with Mercury?" He asked her. Daphne raised an eyebrow.

"The planet or the God?"

"The Eye Fucker."

Daphne laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh! That guy."

"Why didn't you tell me that he was ogling you? I would've put a stop to it."

"I didn't want to interrupt your, what I'm assuming was important, conversation with Ron. You had been talking to him and only him since we met him and I didn't want to impose." Daphne spoke in a calming tone, but he could tell that she was anything but calm.

"Really?" Harry asked, confusion spreading through him. He thought back to the beginning of the day. He _had_ been talking to Ron quite a bit, but it was because he had found out some information about the meeting with Aurors. He had tried to talk to Daphne once the game started, but she turned into a completely different person. It was difficult to talk to her when she was so buried within the game.

"I'm sorry, Daphne. I really wasn't trying to ignore you. I mean it. We started talking about work and then got kind of carried away." It was difficult for Daphne to hold on to her remembered anger when Harry's eyes were boring into hers.

"I _suppose_ I can forgive you," Daphne said rolling her eyes, but a small smile playing on her lips. "But you'll have to make it up to me somehow." Before Daphne could start listing off the ways that Harry could gain her true forgiveness, his lips were on hers in a searing kiss. After their first dinner at Daphne's, he had very little control when it came to kissing her. He kissed her whenever he could, for as long as he could, wherever he could. It was like he was addicted. It reminded him of the feeling of being on liquid luck. He felt like a completely different person when his lips were against hers.

"Randy fucking kids," muttered an old man as he walked down the hall. Daphne pulled away from Harry in embarrassment, but he couldn't help but smile. He supposed that that was what they looked like, standing in the hallway and snogging.

"I know just the thing," Harry suggested. "You should let me cook for you tomorrow. To apologize for today and to repay you for the lasagna."

"Do you cook, Potter?" Daphne teased, her blue eyes sparkling in delight and excitement. Harry shrugged.

"Only when I'm forced to do so _or_ there's a beautiful lady present." Daphne blushed, but she didn't giggle like she wanted to.

"It's a date."

-x-

Harry stepped into the Auror department on Monday feeling like a million galleons. He and Daphne were on good terms again. No, better terms. Their date the day before went amazingly well.

He had spent the entire morning and afternoon cleaning 12 Grimmauld Place from top to bottom, which was no easy feat. Harry had never let the ancestral home of the Black family fall into disrepair like it did when it was vacant. He always maintained the hidden house. But, maintaining and making sure that it's clean for a hot date were two completely different things. So, he cleaned for hours. But, the smiling face of Daphne Greengrass was well worth the overwhelming smell of bleach and wandwork that Harry had to endure.

When one of his fellow aurors raised an eyebrow at Harry, did he realize that he was even whistling. Harry loved his job (even though it was quite stressful), but he was never so outright happy.

His happiness faltered for a moment when he looked at Mercury. He was talking to Head Auror Robards, so he couldn't approach him, but he made sure to shoot him a threatening glare.

When he sat down at his desk, prepared for the mountain of paperwork that he had to finish before the next day, he noticed his best friend come walking towards him.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" He asked him.

"Daphne," Harry said plainly.

"You act like you're under the Amorentia potion," Ron laughed before stopping abruptly. "Wait, you're not are you? Quick, say something negative about Daphne."

"I'm not under any potion," Harry argued.

"I'm just saying, maybe we should get you checked out. You know, just in case."

Harry rolled his eyes. Was he always so depressed that people assumed that he was under the influence of potions when he was only happy?

"Speaking of Daphne-," Harry started. "You have to be nicer to her."

Ron gasped. "What do you mean? I wasn't mean to her!"

"I know. And I appreciate that. But she can tell that you don't like her. She's very perceptive," said Harry, inking a quill so he could get started on his paperwork.

"She came to the game wearing a Falcons jersey, Harry. You can't just "be nice" to those kinds of people."

"She's friends with the owner of the team. Wait, are you telling me that you're only friends with people who are Cannons fans?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"No. I'm saying I'm not friends with anyone who is a Falmouth Falcons fan. They're cheaters!" Harry rolled his eyes.

"Be nice to Daphne, Ron."

"Okay, okay," Ron said fighting a smile. "I'll try my best. But I can't make any promises. If she wants to bring up the 1998 series, I can't be held accountable for my actions." Harry thought back to the year that the Cannons finished dead last. Harry was a bit busy that year and wasn't keeping up with Quidditch, but he still remembered Ron's irate rant and tantrum.

"Fair enough," Harry teased.

"Speaking of Daphne, you didn't tell me that you two were actually in a relationship."

"Well, what did you think we were?" Harry asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I don't know. Fuck buddies?" Ron guessed. Harry could feel his face redden. He and Daphne had definitely become more affectionate with one another, but they were nowhere near having sex. He really wanted to. Desperately wanted to. But, he wasn't going to push for something that Daphne wasn't ready for.

"No. We're not that," said Harry, his blush trying to take over his date.

"Wait. Have you guys not-?" Ron asked.

"I didn't tell you the dynamics about our relationship because I thought that it was obvious. I mean, I talk about her ALL the time," said Harry, ignoring Ron's question. "I'm aware," Ron said, thinking about how annoying it had been to hear Harry gush about the specific color of blue that Daphne's eyes were.

"Also, I thought it would be weird because of…"

"Ginny?" Ron guessed. Harry only nodded. Ron laughed, surprising the Boy Who Lived.

"Harry, that was a fucked up situation. I'm not even going to argue that. It was a shitty thing that Ginny did. But, it would be even more shitty if you didn't try to move on from that. I'm happy that you're happy, even if you're dating a Slytherin. A Slytherin who is a Falmouth Falcons fan, by the way."

"So, you swear that you'll be nicer the next time you see her?" Harry asked, still skeptical of his best friend. He knew that Ron could be rude and unfriendly if he wanted to be.

"I said I would be, didn't I?" Said Ron before he started to walk towards his own desk. "And could you stop with the whistling. It's really fucking creepy."

Harry was nearly done with his paperwork by his lunch hour. He was on his way to a Thai restaurant in Muggle London that he and Daphne had agreed on the day before when he saw Daphne. She was talking to a woman with jet black hair which was pulled up into a sophisticated hairdo. She was wearing expensive robes and too much jewelry to blend in with the muggles around her.

When Daphne turned towards Harry, the woman who was talking to her also turned towards him, and he could see that their eyes were the same shade of intense electric blue.

When she saw him, her eyes widened before she turned her attention back to Daphne. Harry couldn't hear what they were talking about, but he could tell that they were arguing. Suddenly, the woman stepped away from Daphne and stomped her way past Harry.

Daphne sighed and made her way to Harry.

"Who was…?"

"My mother," Daphne answered. "I should've assumed that I'd see her sooner or later. I knew that once she found out about you and I she'd try to get between us."

"Get between us?" Harry questioned. Well, he now knew what the argument was about.

"Yeah. You're not a pureblood and that's a problem to her. She was spouting some bullshit about class and blood purity." Daphne laughed a humorless laugh. "Ugh. Seeing her just put me in the worst mood."

Harry pulled Daphne into a hug and could feel her relax in his arms. She sighed again and reached up to give him a soft kiss.

"Thanks, I needed that."

"I think you need Pad Thai a bit more, though," Harry teased. Daphne smiled and laughed.

"Well, obviously. I ALWAYS need Pad Thai."

-x-

When Harry got back to work, the office was bustling with Aurors. People were running up and down the office, carrying paperwork here and there. People were whispering to each other and hushed tones. The Auror Department always maintained a constant type of chaos, but this was something that Harry had never experienced before. He could feel how on edge everyone was.

"What's going on?" Harry asked Ron who he found at his desk reading through a thick book.

"Johnathon Crabbe is here."

"So?" Harry asked. "What did he do?"

"He's here because there was a tip that there were a gathering of masked men congregating at his house. Well, when we got there, the meeting was apparently over, but they found something very incriminating in his basement."

"What?"

"Rolf Scamander."

Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"The grandson of…"

Ron lifted up "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them".

"What did they want with him?" Harry asked. Ron shrugged.

"We don't know. When they found him he was unconscious. There's some serious curse damage on the bloke. He's at St. Mungo's right now. People are suspecting that there might be a Death Eater uprising soon."

Harry was coming to the same conclusion. He could feel his heart racing and he couldn't get air into his lungs fast enough. Ron noticed the oncoming panic attack, stood up, and forced Harry to sit down in his chair.

"I know."

"But we already won," Harry said quietly.

"I know," Ron repeated. "We should've thrown them into Azkaban and thrown out the key."

The Wizengamot was so corrupted by the end of the war, that some of the Death Eaters, if they had the money to pay off enough people, got a slap on the wrist and probation. That obviously wasn't working.

"Robards is probably going to call us into his office soon," Ron warned. Harry groaned. It was no secret that Harry and Ron were essential to the downfall of Lord Voldemort. They had actually taken on Death Eaters before and won. Or, so they thought. Was it really winning if the enemy was able to regroup and attack years later?

Robards door opened and out stepped Johnathon Crabbe with magic stifling handcuffs around his wrists and two Aurors at his back with wands aimed at him. He was being led out through the back to the holding cell.

Before he was out of the office, Crabbe broke out into hysterical laughter that shot a chill up the spine of every living being in the room.

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **There have been some questions about my portrayal of Harry. I think it's very boring that in some stories, Harry is perfect. He needs to have some kind of flaw, otherwise he's not relatable. And… if you don't like my Harry, feel free to write your own Harry and make him as perfect and as flawless as you like. Otherwise, I invite you to sit tight and enjoy the show!**

 **What did you think of the chapter? I'd love to know! Please leave a review. I read all of them and try to reply when I can.**

 **Also, a special thank you to my favorites and follows. As I type this, this story has 99 favorites and 161 follows. Thank you so very much!**

 **See you next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello, All! I was so excited to see that NQSB had over 50 reviews, that I decided to update again. I hope that won't be a problem!**

 **I'd like to remind everyone that this story is unbeta'd and that I'm an American so my British lingo is literal trash.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I do own a scooter that is covered in pollen.**

 **A special thank you to those who have reviewed: Ronin Kenshin, Kagemaru Raiden, jslee102, Vi38, alix33, fuzzy6, Raven097, barbaroja, rfpizzle, Zany Muggle, and Soap Opera**

After a stressful day at work, the first thing that Harry wanted to do was be with Daphne. He hadn't had a panic attack in such a long time that he forgot how he used handle them. He hoped that seeing Daphne and being around her would help him get back to normal. The worst of it was over, but he still felt like crap. He was usually very good about repressing memories of the war while he was awake. But, after the events of the day, everything came crashing into him.

He knocked on Daphne's door, hoping that he hadn't beaten her there. He went straight there after work and if Daphne stayed at her job later than usual or met up with Hermione after work, then he could be sitting outside of her door for a while. He didn't want to go anywhere else.

After a few brief moments, Daphne opened the door, her hair in a messy bun and her body nearly buried in a sweatshirt. She had ink on her face, which was a common occurrence if she was studying. She had bunny slippers on, which made Harry uncomfortable because they always moved and blinked at him.

"Harry!" She said, a surprised look on her face. "Oh shite. Did we have a date today? Fuck. Give me like twenty minutes and I can-,"

"No! No Daphne. We don't have a date. I just um… I just wanted to see you." Daphne's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, her mind whirling. Harry shrugged. He wasn't sure, but he got the feeling that nothing was going to be okay for a while.

Daphne opened the door wider, letting Harry come through. As soon as he stepped over the threshold he enveloped Daphne in a hug. Daphne reciprocated and rubbed his back in soothing circles. When Harry finally let her go, Daphne kissed him. A small kiss, but a warm kiss.

"Do you want tea? I can make hot cocoa if you want. I was going to get Chinese later, but if you're hungry now, I guess we can-,". Harry interrupted Daphne by kissing her again. This was no small kiss. This kiss wasn't warm; it was on fire. He nipped at her lips and tasted her tongue and he couldn't get enough. He pulled her body against his and she let out a soft moan that startled him and turned him on simultaneously. He slipped his hands up her too big sweatshirt and she moaned again as his hands roamed her stomach.

Before things could go too far, Daphne pulled away, her breath ragged and uneven. She swiped the few stray strands of hair out of her face and took a deep breath trying to calm herself. Her face was pink and her lips were red and Harry had a difficult time stopping himself from kissing her again.

"Umm-," "I'm sorry," Harry said quickly. Daphne shook her head quickly.

"NO. No, don't apologize. I umm, I liked it. I just, I don't think I'm ready. Not yet. I'm sorry." It was only a kiss, but it was a kiss that promised to be much more.

"Don't apologize for not being ready," Harry told her, feeling awkward and guilty. He hadn't meant to push her.

Daphne walked towards the kitchen, her bunny slippers blinking with each step she took.

"Tea or cocoa? Speak now or you'll take what I make and like it!" Daphne warned over her shoulder.

"I'll take cocoa," said Harry following after her. "Marshmallows?" Daphne asked, pulling the cocoa out of the cabinet.

"Of course. What do you think I am? Some kind of monster?" Harry teased. Daphne laughed and grabbed the milk from the refrigerator.

As she stirred the milk on the stove, she noticed Harry's eyes. They were still the same vibrant green that they always were, but they were far away and vacant.

"Harry?" She called to him. He shook his head as if shaking a thought out of his head, and looked to her.

"Everything okay? What happened at work today?" Daphne asked him. Harry wasn't allowed to discuss what was going on with anyone who wasn't in the Auror department. If the little information that they did have about the resurfacing Death Eaters did get out, then that would really complicate things for the department.

"It was just a very stressful day," Harry said softly. Daphne could understand that. She had an exam coming up that she wasn't anywhere near prepared for. Most of her days were stressful.

"Can I ask you about something personal?" Harry asked her. Daphne, who was pouring the powdered cocoa into the warm milk faltered for a minute and nearly made a mess on the counter. Harry and Daphne talked about a lot of things, but Harry never asked her permission before asking a question. It made her worry.

"Sure," she said hesitantly.

"Was your father a death eater?"

This time, Daphne burned her finger with the scalding milk and cursed loudly. She wasn't expecting that question. She thought that the question was going to be about her virginity or her fear of intimacy. She wasn't expecting anything related to the war because, Harry hated bringing it up and talking about it.

"Um. I'm not sure. I never asked," Daphne said after using a quick healing spell on her finger.

"Would he have told you if he was?" Harry asked her.

Daphne shrugged. "I'm not sure. My relationship with my father wasn't a very close one. He was so involved with the winery that I rarely ever saw him during the summer holidays unless we were away on vacation. He and my mother definitely favored Astoria. Why are you asking?"

"Do you think that Astoria would know? Do you think she'd tell you if you asked her?" Harry asked, ignoring her question.

"Again, I'm not sure. I don't talk to Astoria, you know that. I go out of my way to avoid her. Why are you asking? Did my father do something?"

Harry ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He couldn't tell Daphne anything, but he really needed to know. If not for the department, then for himself. If Daphne still had ties to Death Eaters then he wanted to know about them. He wanted to know if she'd be in danger. He needed to know if they could use Daphne against him or, worse, if Daphne would go against him.

"No. I don't know. But, if you hear about anything-,"

"Of course I'll tell you. But, you're scaring me and you haven't even told me anything yet," Daphne complained before passing Harry the hot chocolate she had made for him.

"I can't tell you anything because we really don't know enough at the moment. Just, please be careful." Daphne nodded before taking a sip of her hot cocoa.

"I know that my father is still a fan of blood purity and dabbled in the dark arts. But, I don't think he was good enough to be a Death Eater. My father is better at making money than he is at using dark curses. He might've donated money to the cause, but I don't know if he was actively a Death Eater. He _did_ call You-Kno… I mean, Lord Voldemort the Dark Lord if that means anything. But, like I said, we weren't close enough for him to divulge those secrets to me."

Harry nodded his head in understanding. He knew most of the Death Eaters and Daphne's father was never amongst the ones he knew. He just wanted to be sure. The uncertainty would eat away at him if he didn't ask. He still wasn't sure, but he felt a little better than he did before he asked her about him.

"I know that my father set up a marriage arrangement with Johnathon Crabbe. I was supposed to marry Vincent."

At the mention of Johnathon Crabbe, Harry's eyes widened. The memory of Crabbe's laughter sent a chill up Harry's spine.

"What?!" "Yeah. They were friends growing up. So, I was going to be married to Vincent because of their friendship and some stupid childhood fantasy of finally "being family" and Astoria was going to marry Draco for money and class. It was obvious that I wasn't the favorite daughter," Daphne grumbled. "I used to feel guilty about how happy I was that I wasn't going to have to marry Vincent. He was a nightmare with the brain capacity of a blast-ended skrewt. It would've been a loveless marriage."

"Johnathon Crabbe and your father were friends?" Harry asked to verify. Daphne nodded.

"Harry, you look really pale. Do you want to sit down?" Daphne asked him. She didn't wait for an answer before she led him to the sofa. She used her wand to bring Harry his hot cocoa and then she cuddled up next to him.

"I wish you would talk to me," Daphne whispered.

"I wish that I could too. But if I tell you anything, I could put you in danger. People could be after you and-,"

"So, you're not going to tell me anything because you want to protect me?" Daphne accused, her anger showing. Harry shook his head.

"That's not the only reason. I'm not _supposed_ to tell anyone."

"But I could be in danger!"

"You won't be in danger if I don't-," Daphne glared at Harry which quickly silenced him.

"I'm your girlfriend. You're very public girlfriend. If anyone is after you then I'm already in danger. I can take care of myself. But, I'm not going to be able to do that properly if you're keeping things from me."

Harry shook his head, but he was very conflicted. She had a good point. But, still…

"I'm just going to draw my own conclusions, Harry. Which, might be worse than the truth in all honesty. Just tell me."

Harry sighed and looked into those blue eyes of hers. He was fucked.

"You can't tell anyone, Daphne. No one can know."

"Who am I going to tell?" Daphne asked the rhetorical question while rolling her eyes.

"No one. You're not going to tell ANYONE," Harry stressed.

"Of course not," Daphne promised.

Harry still didn't feel comfortable going into detail, so he gave her a watered down version of what happened earlier in the Auror Department office.

Daphne sat with rapt attention, her hands gripping her mug of hot cocoa and her eyes never leaving Harry.

After he was done telling her the story, they sat in silence for a few moments.

"It was weird seeing my mother today," said Daphne. "I rarely ever see her out and about. And then today she warned me about hanging around the wrong people. How did she find me in Muggle London? Do you think they've been following me? Do you think that she could be involved?"

"I really hope not," said Harry softly. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He completely forgot that he had seen Daphne's mother earlier that day. The events following after that were so more intense that it had simply slipped his mind.

"I think that you should tell Hermione," said Daphne. Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "She needs to know. You and Ron know and she was just as important in the fall of Voldemort. She needs to know that there could be a regrouping. Especially since she's hanging around Draco all of the time."

Both Harry's and Daphne's eyes widened. "Draco," they said simultaneously.

"Shite," Daphne cursed, standing up.

"We've got to get her away from him," Harry said, standing up and walking towards the "not entirely legal" fireplace that Daphne had in her flat.

"What?!" Daphne asked, chasing after him.

"I knew that he couldn't be trusted!"

"No! What are you talking about? Draco is one of the most trustworthy people I know. If anything, we might have to save _him_!" Daphne nearly yelled at Harry.

If anyone had changed more than Daphne after the war, it was Draco. He was still an annoying git, and he was still condescending and a spoiled brat. But, he didn't believe in the blood purity bullshite that was fed to him as a child anymore than Daphne did. If anything, he was more outspoken against it than she was.

"It could all be an act!" Harry retorted.

"It's no more an act for him than it is for me," said Daphne, defending her friend. Who would've thought that someday Daphne would have to defend Draco against Harry Potter? Definitely not her.

Harry's eyes narrowed at her and Daphne felt like he was looking right through her.

"Do you trust me?" She asked him. Harry stared at her, a blank expression on his face as he thought it over. Seconds passed and Daphne could feel her heart racing. She shouldn't have been so surprised. Harry didn't seem to trust many people. Just because Daphne trusted him didn't mean that he had to reciprocate.

Daphne took a step away from him and mentally cursed herself for letting her eyes water.

"Do you trust Hermione?" Daphne asked, hoping he wouldn't notice that her feelings were hurt. He nodded.

"Then trust that she's a good judge of character. If she felt the slightest bit concerned about Draco's loyalty, she'd drop him like a grindylow. She'd be able to see right through any facade, and you know it."

"But Hermione is too kind. She's too trusting. What if she gets hurt?" Harry sighed in frustration.

"You aren't the only one who's survived a war, Harry. You may be the child of prophecy, but Hermione was right there with you fighting it. Tell her about Mr. Crabbe, let her deal with it in her own way, and she'll be fine. If she wants your help, she'll come to you for it."

Daphne was right and Harry knew it. Hermione wasn't a fool and she wasn't a damsel in distress. She could take care of herself as long as she had the information to do so. He would have to tell her everything. She would even be able to point out things that the aurors might not have noticed.

Harry and Daphne stood in the middle of the room, both of their bodies tense and their minds racing. Daphne was still hurting from Harry's lack of trust and Harry was still suspicious of Draco's intentions with his best friend, but neither spoke of it.

"I have a bit of studying to do," said Daphne, tired of the silence between them.

"I do trust you, Daphne," Harry said after Daphne went to grab her notes from the end table.

"You don't have to lie to me, Harry. We haven't been together that long. It would be foolish of you to trust me after only a month." Daphne closed her eyes in annoyance after realizing that she had unwittingly called herself foolish.

"I'm not lying. I trust you. I'm just worried about your family." Daphne sighed. She couldn't blame him for that, even though it still stung a bit. She didn't even trust her family, so why should he?

"I really care about you, Daphne. If something happened to you because of me, I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself." Daphne looked up at him, a sad smile on her face and disbelief in her heart. "If something happens to me, I'm sure it will be my own fault in some way. I broke away from my family long before I met you, Harry. You don't have to save me from anything."

Harry wanted to say something, but his stomach grumbled, effectively interrupting the mood. "So, about that Chinese?" He asked.

Daphne smiled and grabbed her purse. But, she couldn't help but wonder if her family was really the only reason why Harry had hesitated.

 **Thank you very much for reading!**

 **Things are going to get a bit rocky for a while. But, no worries, our favorite couple will get through it. Do not fret.**

 **Please leave a review! I'd love to know what you're thinking. I try to reply to reviews when I can.**

 **Stay tuned for next time! Thank you!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello All! I'm back with another chapter and I hope that you all enjoy it.**

 **I would like to warn you all that this story is currently un-beta'd, so all spelling and grammatical errors are my own fault. Also, I'm an American, so my British lingo is only what I've picked up from watching BBC.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I do, however, own a scooter that may or may not have a wasp's nest growing inside of it.**

 **Also, I'd like to give a special thank you to those who have reviewed my story! The last chapter got more reviews than any other chapter and I'm super happy about it:**

 **Alix33, Kagemaru Raiden, Awesomeace18, m1ndfreak, Vi38, 1529, fuzzy6, Shadowsmage, SoapOpera, Shannon 186, James Spookie, BurningDay, trispectrum, and Khaos Risen**

Daphne was still confused at work the next day. She was unable to get much sleep because of the previous day's events. She found out that it was highly probable that the Death Eaters were making an unwanted comeback. Every shadow in her flat seemed darker and every noise she heard sounded magnified. She had to give herself a Dreamless Sleep draught to help her finally get some rest.

Also, she was unsure of her relationship with Harry. He was sweet and caring, but she wasn't very confident that he trusted her. When she asked him if he did trust her, he hesitated answering the question. It didn't sit well with her, but she could understand his point of view. Not long after her relationship with him started, Death Eater meetings start taking place; could he believe that it was more than a coincidence?

To counter her confusion and paranoia, Daphne decided to drown herself in her work. She couldn't focus on bloodthirsty bigots when she was too busy going over the uses of pixie eyes in burning salves. How was she going to stress out about her relationship with Harry Potter when she was too busy trying to improve her wandwork for healing charms?

Healer Alvarez was very impressed with how attentive Daphne was being. She didn't say anything, but she didn't glare or scowl nearly as much as Daphne was used to. Daphne morbidly thought that perhaps she should maintain some sort of drama in her life until her Healer certification. If that were the case, she might be able to guarantee success.

"Greengrass, I'm going to give you an option," Healer Alvarez said after handing release papers to an admitted patient with green skin. Daphne waited patiently for Alvarez to continue.

"You can take your lunch now or you can take your lunch after we take a stroll down the orthopaedic ward."

"I'll take my lunch later," said Daphne without hesitation. Daphne usually spent her lunch hour with Harry, but due to the awkward tension that transpired the night before, she wasn't sure if they were keeping their date or not. How pathetic would she be if she sat at the muggle Thai place and waited for him for an hour, only for him not to show up?

"Good," said Alvarez, turning around and heading towards the ward dedicated to broken bones.

As she followed Alvarez around St. Mungo's, a sad thought crossed Daphne's mind. What if Harry _did_ show up to their date? What if _he_ was the one waiting for her? The unstable ground they stood on would certainly implode if that were the case. She didn't want to stop seeing Harry. She wanted him to like her as much as she liked him in the short amount time that they'd been together.

"May I use the restroom?" Daphne asked Alvarez. The healer turned around to face Daphne and nodded once before continuing towards the ortho ward.

"I'll be in room 217. Make sure to find me as soon as you're finished," Alvarez said, not stopping her strides. Daphne sighed and turned quickly to head towards the small owlery that St. Mungo's had. If she wasn't with Healer Alvarez in five minutes, the healer would surely get suspicious that Daphne was up to something. Daphne mentally cursed. Why didn't she just tell her that she had to write a quick letter? She supposed that the restless night before _was_ negatively affecting her in some ways.

Daphne nearly sprinted to the owlery, pulled a scrap of parchment that was in her robe's pockets and quickly wrote a note to Harry with an ink-replenishing quill that she found on the floor. She tied the poorly written note on the closest owl's leg. The bird looked rather annoyed at how disheveled and unkempt Daphne was, but flew away dutifully to find Harry anyway.

Daphne rushed to room 217, getting curious stares along the way. When she stood outside of the door, she straightened her robes and made sure the ponytail her hair was in was tightened and not a strand was out of place. She opened the door without knocking and found Healer Alvarez reading over her clipboard.

"I was starting to worry that you might've drowned in the loo," Alvarez commented without looking up. Daphne forced a fake laugh that startled everyone, including herself, but didn't say anything to the comment.

Daphne went to introduce herself to the patient when her sluggish mind caught up with her eyes. She was looking into a familiar face but she couldn't place her. Red hair and freckles, so she was more likely than not, a Weasley, but she couldn't for the life of her recall her name. Daphne continued to stare at her, a small confused frown on her face, before she shook herself out of her haze.

"Hello. I'm the Healer-in-training, Daphne Greengrass," she said, holding her hand out to the young woman.

"Ginny Weasley. I'd hold my hand out to you, but I'm afraid my arm is a bit shattered," she said, a slight grimace on her face. Daphne looked at her arm and saw that it looked mangled, as if it had spent a few minutes in the mouth of a dragon.

"And I'm Luna Lovegood," said the woman standing next to Ginny that Daphne hadn't even noticed until she spoke.

"Greengrass, I'd like for you to demonstrate the wand movements required to reconstruct an arm after the skele gro has been administered," said Alvarez finally looking up from her clipboard. Daphne took her wand out of her robe's pocket and proceeded to show Alvarez the correct movements for the healing charm. Alvarez watched Daphne but didn't glare like Daphne assumed that she would.

"You were a quarter of an inch off when moving your wand counterclockwise," she said. Daphne knew that that was as close to a compliment as she was going to get, so she beamed with pride.

"I'd like you to give the patient the skele gro that I've already brewed for her, and then use the charm necessary to speed the process along. I will see you soon, Ms. Weasley." With that, Healer Alvarez swept out of the room.

Daphne grabbed the skele gro potion out of the Healer's cabinet along the wall of the room. She uncorked the vial and handed it to Ginny. Ginny groaned before downing it all in one gulp.

"That's bloody gross," she swore after handing the vial back to Daphne.

"I'm sorry. You wouldn't believe how many potioneers have tried to make the potion more appetizing, but the slightest alteration to it makes it nearly useless," said Daphne while putting the vial next to the sink so that it could be washed thoroughly later.

Daphne then got to work using the charm on Ginny's arm. She made sure to notice her movements when moving counter-clockwise. She didn't think that the quarter-inch would really matter, but in the case that it did, she didn't want Alvarez to burn her at the stake for the stupid mistake.

After that was done, Daphne smiled to herself. Daphne had been handling patients on her own more often than not, but she was still very happy that she hadn't killed anyone yet. That, alone, was a success in her book.

Daphne summoned parchment, a clipboard, and a self-inking quill.

"Are there any questions that you have for me?" She asked the beautiful redhead.

"Yes, actually. How long have you been fucking my ex-boyfriend exactly?" Ginny asked her, her voice void of all emotion. Daphne was taken aback. She nearly dropped the clipboard and had to scramble to keep it in her arms. The young woman with long blonde hair and crystal blue eyes glared at Ginny before sending a sad look Daphne's way.

"E-excuse me?" Daphne asked.

"How long have you been fucking-,"

"I heard you," Daphne cut her off. "I was just giving you the opportunity to ask a different question. Or, not ask anything at all."

"I didn't know that you were a Healer," said Luna Lovegood, trying to change the subject.

"Healer-in-training. I haven't gotten my certification yet," Daphne corrected. Daphne didn't know how Luna knew about her and she also didn't know how Ginny knew about her. She assumed that they all went to Hogwarts together because they looked to be around the same age as her, but she wasn't sure.

"That's fascinating. Tell me, have their been many snorkack attacks lately?" Luna asked. Daphne's face scrunched up in confusion. She had never heard of such a creature.

"So, how long?" Ginny asked, cutting Daphne off from answering Luna's question.

"I can only assume that you're alluding to Harry," Daphne said. Ginny nodded her head in confirmation.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," she said in a snippy tone. It was really no one's business but theirs. She wasn't about to tell Harry's ex-girlfriend, someone that she had never heard of, anything about their relationship. Ginny glared at her and Daphne glared right back.

"Now, are there any questions about your health that I might be able to answer?" Daphne asked, trying to finish up her obligations as quickly as possible so that she could get far away from Ginny. Ginny shook her head slowly and Daphne continued.

"May I ask how you came to be in our care today?"

"You mean, Harry hasn't told you that I'm a Quidditch player?" Ginny asked. Honestly, Daphne didn't even know that Ginny was Harry's ex-girlfriend. He never talked about a past relationship so she couldn't have known that they were together. Daphne shook her head and Ginny frowned.

"But even if he did, I would still have to ask the question," said Daphne, trying to, for some unknown reason, make the redhead girl feel a bit better.

"I was hit with a bludger at my Quidditch game and fell nearly one hundred feet," she mumbled.

"She was lucky to only have her arm shattered. It could've been so much worse," Luna said sagely.

Suddenly, Daphne knew why the girl looked so familiar. She played for the Holyhead Harpies. She had to repress the sneer from marring her face. For some reason, the fact that she was a player for the Harpies disturbed her more than the fact that she and Harry used to be in a relationship.

"Does he ever talk about me?" Luna asked. Daphne raised an eyebrow at her. Did Harry date her too? Was there a harem of women that Harry had under his belt that she didn't know about? Who exactly was she dating?

Daphne shook her head again and Luna's eyes fell to the floor. Ginny grabbed Luna's hand with her unbroken arm and gripped it tightly.

"I guess we're both dirty little secrets," Ginny said venomously. Daphne sighed before putting a fake smile on her face.

"If that's all, then I'll be on my way. Healer Alvarez should be on her way soon." Daphne shot out of that room so fast, everything seemed like a blur. She hurried to turn in her paperwork and quickly left to take her lunch. She hadn't had much of an appetite that day to begin with, but there was no way that she'd be able to stomach anything at the moment. She stood outside of St. Mungo's Hospital completely at a loss as to what to do to pass the time.

Without thinking, she apparated to the Ministry of Magic. She had no idea why the Ministry was the place her magic took her, but she didn't question it. When she walked into the Ministry she found herself walking towards the Auror department. Before she could thoughtlessly walk into the office housing her boyfriend, she turned right and continued walking. She was aimlessly walking around the hidden building, trying to pass the time while escaping her own thoughts and the stifling air of the hospital. She walked up and down corridors and took the magical elevator to random levels, not paying any kind of attention as to where she was going.

"Daphne? What are you doing here? Is everything ok?" She turned around to find the owner of the voice and sighed in relief. Theodore Nott was standing behind her, a confused look on his face.

"I don't know," Daphne confessed. "I'm on my lunch break and I'm not hungry so I figured "why not"?" Theo raised an eyebrow at her.

"You decided to come to the Ministry for fun? To pass time? Are you okay?" He asked her. Daphne swiped a few stray hairs out of her face and shrugged.

"I had a really weird day today. I don't know why I chose to come here, but I'm certain that it had something to do with my lack of sleep last night. I haven't been making the best decisions today," said Daphne, her head muddled and racing at the same time.

"Well, right now, you're near the Department of Mysteries. It's not a very popular place to be. We don't have many visitors. Did you maybe want to go to the Auror Department?" Daphne quickly shook her head and Theo raised an eyebrow at her. He didn't say anything about Daphne's reluctance to see Potter, but he was a bit curious.

"Okay. Well, luckily for you, I'm also on my lunch break. I was just on my way to see Draco before heading to lunch. Would you like to accompany me?" Theo asked her. Daphne accepted because she really couldn't think of anything else better to do.

As they were walking towards the Department for the Regulation and Control for Magical Creatures, Daphne found herself speaking without thinking once again.

"Did Harry ever have a harem?" Daphne asked Theo. Theo turned his eyes towards her, his face emotionless and blank.

"Are you asking me if, Harry Potter, your boyfriend and savior of Wizarding Britain ever had a harem?" He asked for clarification. Daphne nodded slowly, realizing how stupid she sounded.

"I wouldn't know," Theo said plainly. "That would be a better question for Draco. He was slightly obsessed with the kid in school. I'm sure he knows all of Potter's allergies and food preferences too, if you're interested in that. But, do you know who might be a touch more knowledgeable about Potter's harem than even Draco?"

Daphne's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Potter," Theo explained.

"Of course I can't ask Harry about his harem," Daphne said as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet.

"Why not?" Theo asked, as they continued to walk towards Draco's office.

"Because, if he had one, why would he tell me?" Daphne asked. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. Wasn't she supposed to trust Harry to tell her the truth? She had been mentally agonizing over Harry's lack of trust of her, and she sounded just as untrusting.

"If he had one, which I'm not sure that he did, you'd know about it. I assume it would be difficult for Potter to have many secrets with the media constantly stalking him. And, I'm not sure how harems work because I've never found myself the object of one, but I believe that the difference between a harem and a bloke sneaking around with several women, is that they're all aware of each other. If you were being added to the harem, you'd know about it," said Theo before opening Draco's office door without knocking.

Draco was sitting behind his desk, papers neatly stacked in a pile and quills lying in a straight line. He had a book opened in front of him and he looked up briefly before returning his attention back towards the book.

"You'll find the Department for Magical Law Enforcement on level two, Daphne," said the blonde who, on closer inspection, had dark marks under his eyes.

"I'm not here to see Harry," Daphne informed him, a little miffed that he didn't think that she could just be in the ministry to see her friends.

Draco raised an eyebrow and turned his attention to Theo who shrugged his shoulders.

"Where's Hermione?" Daphne asked looking around Draco's office. "I thought you two spent most of your time together while at work."

"She left for her lunch because she has a date with that tosser, Oliver Wood," Draco grumbled. Theo and Daphne looked at each other before Theo rolled his eyes in annoyance. He opened his mouth to speak but Draco pointed his wand at the wizard before he could get a word out.

"If you say "I told you so" I swear I will hex your bollocks off."

Instead of grabbing his own wand like Daphne expected him to, Theo broke out into laughter.

"Well, what the fuck did you expect? For her to keep waiting around for you?" Theo teased, still laughing. Draco's face reddened but he put his wand away, a deep frown on his face.

Daphne tried to remember if her best friend ever talked about this Wood person, but she couldn't remember. She rubbed her forehead in frustration. She was never going to go a night without sleep again. If she had to drown herself in sleeping draughts, then so be it. She couldn't handle the constant confusion that she felt.

"Now, cheer up, because your services are needed. And I'm not talking about getting kappas out of Mr. Johansson's pond. Daphne, here, would like your wonderful insight on a personal matter," said Theo, taking a seat on the edge of Draco's desk. Draco's eyes lightened as he looked at Daphne, glad that the attention was no longer on him.

"What can I help you with, Daphne?" He asked, crossing his arms and leaning back on his chair.

"What do you know about Ginny Weasley?" Daphne asked, deciding to cut to the chase. She didn't want to ask about the harem, in the case that there wasn't one. Draco wouldn't be as polite as Theo. He'd laugh and mock her suspicions without a second thought.

"She's annoying and plays for the Holyhead Harpies. And she used to date your boyfriend I think. Hermione would know better than I would. I think they used to be friends," Draco informed, a confused and curious look on his face. "We never got along."

"Do you know why she and Harry broke up?"

"Why the fuck would I know that?" Draco asked, offended.

"Well, Theo said that-,"

"We just figured that you would know because maybe Hermione might have brought it up," Theo said, effectively cutting Daphne off and preventing her from tossing him into Draco's wrath.

"Hermione and I had an agreement not to bring up her friends in conversation. She wouldn't bring them up and I wouldn't make fun of their obvious ineptitude at anything that wasn't killing dark lords."

Daphne had hit a stone wall. Theo couldn't clear anything up for her and neither could Draco. She supposed she could ask Hermione, but then there was the chance that it would get back to Harry, and he would be confused as to why she didn't go directly to him in the first place. Theo was right. The best person to ask these questions to was Harry. She dreaded that conversation. She hated the fact that she had so many doubts and concerns when yesterday everything seemed to be going fine for her.

"Are you okay, Daphne?" Draco asked her. She noticed that Draco and Theo were staring at her with worried expressions on their faces.

"Yes. Of course. Um, I think that I might be running out of time on my lunch hour so I'm going to head back to St. Mungo's. I might be able to get some studying done before Alvarez starts torturing me again."

"Have you even eaten anything?" Theo asked. Daphne shook her head slowly. She still wasn't hungry.

Draco reached into his desk to grab something and tossed it at her. She missed it, of course, which led to Theo and Draco making fun of her lack of hand-eye coordination. When she picked it up off of the floor where it landed, she noticed that it was a muggle protein bar.

Daphne thanked Draco before saying goodbye to the duo and heading out of the office. She decided to walk back to St. Mungo's. She hoped that the fresh air would clear her head so that she could finish her workday without killing someone. As she walked, she slowly ate the protein bar, trying to imagine it was anything other than the pasty tasteless protein bar that it was.

While she was walking, she saw a flash of light and turned her attention to the culprit.

"My name is David and I work for the Daily Prophet. I was hoping that you'd be able to answer a few questions for me," said the young short man, camera still tightly held in his hand.

"I'm so sorry. I really have to go. I'm running a bit late," she lied.

"What's your relationship with Harry Potter like?" He asked, ignoring her reluctance to be bothered.

Daphne continued walking, pretending that she was unaware of David following closely behind her.

"What does your father think about your relationship with the half-blood?" David asked. Daphne rolled her eyes but continued on walking. Even if she had all of the time in the world, she still wouldn't have enough time to deal with this nosy reporter.

"Does it bother you that your relationship has a 38% approval rating amongst Daily Prophet readers?" At that, Daphne stopped and turned her angry glare at the annoying little man.

"Why don't you go fuck off somewhere else?" She sneered. At that moment, David snapped another picture of her. Daphne grabbed the camera out of his hand and contemplated throwing it on the ground.

"Give that back, you bitch!" He nearly yelled, reaching for it. Because of David's short stature, she was able to hold the camera out of his reach by merely holding it over her head.

"I think not. You're annoying. I don't like you. And so now this camera is mine." With that, Daphne apparated outside of St. Mungo's, the camera still in her grasp. When she stepped into the building, she tossed the camera into the nearest wastebasket and went on about her day.

Before leaving for work that day, she went to look for Healer Alvarez to turn in all of her paperwork for the day. She happened upon a hallway that was dedicated for Curse Breaking and Dark Charms. The hall was filled with Aurors standing guard, their faces tense and focused. Daphne's curiosity was piqued but she dared not wander down the hall.

She assumed that whomever was being guarded was a very important person and she couldn't help but wonder who it was. She thought about asking one of the Aurors standing guard, but decided against it. She made a mental note to ask the nurses the next day; they always knew what was going on in the hospital before anyone else did.

Daphne decided to apparate home instead of walking like she normally did. She just wanted the day to be over. She wanted to stuff her face, as her appetite had come back full force, and then sleep for 3 years.

As she was eating her third bacon sandwich she heard a knock on her door. She groaned in frustration. All she wanted to do was eat and sleep. Was that too much to ask for? She wasn't in the mood to entertain company. Especially if that company was who she suspected it was. When she opened the door, her suspicions were confirmed. Harry stood in front of her, his Auror robes still on.

She opened the door wider, silently inviting him in since her face was still filled with bread and meat.

He walked in and stood in the middle of her living room. He turned towards her, a small frown on his face.

"You didn't get much sleep either?" He asked her. She shook her head.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked him feeling a bit self-conscious. She noticed the dark marks under his eyes and his pale complexion. She supposed that sleepless nights might have been contagious and there was a terrible case of it going around.

He nodded his head and Daphne frowned. She realized that she hadn't really looked at herself in the mirror at all that day. She thought back to Draco and Theo's unusual concern for her. They kept asking her if she was okay. Did she look so bad that her friends worried about her health?

She was also pretty pleased with herself for throwing away that man's camera. If she really looked as bad as she suspected that she did, then she really couldn't afford to have those pictures seen by anyone. Although she wasn't as vain as people assumed her to be, she liked to not like a troll on an everyday basis.

"Harry, do you have a harem?" She asked without thinking. Harry's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline.

"N-no. I've never had a harem," said Harry, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous a notion it was. "Where is this coming from?"

Daphne bit her lip in confusion. She didn't know whether to tell Harry about Ginny or not. She, typically speaking, wasn't allowed to tell Harry about Ginny being admitted to the hospital thanks to patient-healer confidentiality. But, she wanted to quell her curiosity.

"I ran into Luna Lovegood today," she said, deciding to bring up the beautiful blonde woman up first.

"Oh! How is Luna? Wait, you said you ran into her today? At your job? Is she okay?" Harry asked, pelting her with questions as his eyes lit up with concern.

"She's fine. She seemed a bit disappointed that you never talk about her," Daphne told him, staying away from any information that might get her in trouble with her job. Harry's eyebrows furrowed.

"Shite. Well, I'm sorry. I guess I don't really talk about her much. Did you have much time to talk to her? I'd love for you two to properly meet. Luna can be a bit weird, but I believe that she's truly one of the most brilliant people I've ever met. She's an amazing friend. I think you'd like her."

Daphne assumed that the young woman was a bit weird, what with her talking about snorkacks. But, she didn't get the hints of brilliance that Harry was alluding to. From the way that Harry talked about Luna, Daphne assumed that there was nothing romantic between them. He talked about her almost like he talked about Hermione.

"Yes, she did seem pretty nice," Daphne said, thinking about the awkward tension between herself and Ginny. It was obvious that Luna was trying to prevent the situation at the time.

"Did Luna tell you that I have a harem?" Harry asked, confused. Daphne shook her head quickly.

"No, no of course not. I think I came to the conclusion myself, but now I'm not really sure how that happened anymore," Daphne said rubbing her forehead. Harry laughed.

"I understand. I was nearly useless at the department today. I haven't had such a horrible night in a very long time. Sleep is rather important as I'm sure you know, Ms. Healer," said Harry before pulling her into a hug.

"Healer-in-training," Daphne corrected, her words mumbled because her face was pressed into Harry's chest. Harry laughed and Daphne smiled at the vibration that it caused on her face.

"There was someone else that I ran into today," Daphne told him, after Harry's laughter died down. Harry raised an eyebrow at her and waited for her to continue.

"Ginny Weasley."

Harry's face paled and his eyes widened behind his glasses.

"Ginny?" He asked almost to himself. Daphne nodded her head, responding to the question and gauging his reaction. He seemed very uncomfortable and also a bit angry.

"What did she say to you?" He asked, his eyes mimicking the color sparkling emeralds.

"She asked me how long I had been fucking you," said Daphne quietly. Harry rolled his eyes.

"That's none of her business," he said, an annoyed look on his face.

"I told her that," Daphne said, nearly laughing. "She also seemed upset that you never told me about her."

"I don't like to talk about her," Harry confessed. "Things didn't end on the best of terms between us."

"Can I ask what happened between you two?" Daphne asked, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer.

Harry laughed a humorless laugh. "She cheated on me."

 **Okay. I'm going to stop right here for now. I know. I'm cruel!**

 **I got so many reviews last chapter, that I decided to extend this chapter a bit. I hope that no one had a problem with that. I'll try to write longer chapters if I can.**

 **I hope you all liked the chapter. If you did, please leave a review. I try to reply to all of them and I love to get them. If you did not like this chapter, also leave a review. However, leave a constructive one. If you don't like the chapter and don't explain why in a thoughtful manner, I'm going to judge you harshly for being a douchebag. I love constructive feedback.**

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 **Until next time x**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello, All! I hope you're having a good week so far. I'm here with another chapter for you, so I hope you'll enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I only own a scooter that my friend likes to ask for rides on.**

 **I would like to give a special thank you to those who have reviewed. I appreciate every review that I receive. I love to read them and they make me smile (for the most part). There's something really nice when others like your work as much as you do.**

 **feydran, harryislife, barbaroja, Kagemaru Raiden, BurningDay, Khaos Risen, fuzzy6, James Spookie, PinaySmith, Vi38, purple sky always, and Awesomeace18**

 **Onwards with the story!**

Daphne stared up at him expectantly. He didn't want to explain the situation to her. Whatever happened between himself, Ginny, and that fucking scumbag from Puddlemere United was best left in the past, if you asked Harry his opinion.

"Can't we just leave it at that? She had an affair and we broke up," said Harry, hoping that Daphne would leave it alone.

"Is she the reason why you don't trust me?" Daphne's blue eyes sparkled with intensity.

Was she still bringing that up? Harry thought that it was established that he trusted her. He had told her so the night before.

"I already told you that I trust you," said Harry tiredly. The stress of the day was catching up with him and the lack of sleep from the night before was hitting him full-force in the face.

"You hesitated," said Daphne, her eyes downcast. "Your hesitation spoke volumes, Harry."

Harry hated to see Daphne look so distraught. He didn't even realize that he had hesitated. He was just so taken-aback by her question that he hadn't really processed it until too much time had passed after she asked. He tried to make up for it by telling her that he truly did trust her, but obviously she wasn't buying it.

Harry truly did trust her. Not as much as she might want him to and definitely not in every way imaginable, but he did trust her where it counted. He trusted her not to poison him when it was her turn to cook. However, he didn't trust her to catch anything that he threw at her because she was such a shoddy athlete. He trusted her not to kill him, but did he really trust her not to cheat on him? Had Ginny's affair really damaged him so much that he was unable to trust anyone else in the same manner?

He knew that Daphne was not Ginny. Sure, they had some things in common, but they had more differences than similarities. Ginny was extremely athletic and Daphne was not. Daphne excelled in academia and Ginny was average at best. They had completely different backgrounds and upbringings; where the Greengrass household was large with a small family that rarely talked to one another, the Weasley household was bursting with love and activity.

When he looked into Daphne's striking blue eyes, he forgot that Ginny existed. In fact, Daphne's presence had nearly erased Ginny from his mind completely, as if he was constantly being obliviated. It was a weird feeling for Harry, having Daphne bring Ginny up.

"I'm sorry for hesitating, Daphne. I- I was surprised by the question. I never really thought about it before," Harry confessed. He really hadn't. He never sat and thought about whether he trusted her or not. He had spent most of his time thinking about Daphne since their relationship started, but he hadn't thought about anything as serious as trust.

"You shouldn't have to apologize to me, Harry. I'm sorry. I don't know why I keep bringing it up. Please ignore me. This is the shite that happens when I don't get a good night's sleep. I keep bringing up resolved issues and then I talk about ex-girlfriends with red hair and I steal reporters cameras and-"

"You stole a reporter's camera?" Harry asked her, a smile forming on his face.

"Good thing, too! I apparently looked like Medusa today. If anyone saw the pictures he took of me, they'd surely turn into stone. The Daily Prophet would have killed many witches and wizards. If anything, they should thank me for saving them from the guilt of it all," Daphne said dramatically. Harry couldn't stop the laugh that erupted from him. Daphne laughed so hard that she snorted which only made them laugh harder.

"I'm not going to bring up the "trust" thing anymore. Or, I'm going to try not to. I make no promises for what happens the next time I don't get at least 8 hours of sleep," said Daphne, her laughter dying down and her tone becoming more serious.

Harry held Daphne's face in his hands, cradling it softly. His eyes bore into hers, emerald clashing with aquamarine. Daphne wanted to turn away from the intensity of it all, but Harry's gaze held hers.

"You won't have to. I trust you, Daphne. And if you don't believe me, then that only means that I'll have to show you, won't I?" Harry smiled at her and Daphne's knees nearly buckled under the innocent action. Before she could stop herself, she threw herself at Harry, her lips pressing almost desperately against his.

Harry was surprised at Daphne's excitement, but he wasn't going to complain about it. Perhaps she finally believed that he trusted her and that turned her on? He wasn't going to push her away. He'd be foolish to. Kissing Daphne was addictive and he was in no mood to even contemplate rehab.

He wrapped his arms around her and ran his fingers through her hair. Daphne moaned softly in his mouth and Harry nearly groaned in response. Harry was convinced that Daphne didn't know how much he loved to hear her moan because of something he did to her. If she was aware, then she was truly an evil witch. Harry could become drunk off of her moans.

He tried desperately to elicit all of the moans that he could from Daphne and he wasn't disappointed. It became too much for him and he had to pull away from her. Daphne quickly reattached herself to Harry and he couldn't suppress his groan. Daphne was killing him and he was letting her.

She pulled him down with her to the sofa, his body hovering over hers. The sudden movement startled Harry out of his haze. He should stop her before things went too far between them. He wasn't sure if Daphne was ready for a sexual relationship; she never brought it up and always seemed to shy away from it.

"Daphne, maybe we should-," Harry was silenced with another kiss. Daphne's hands were wherever they could reach. They roamed through his untidy hair, over his chest, across his back. Her hands left a trail of fire wherever they went and it was burning Harry alive. He didn't care. If this was the way he was going to go, then he'd gladly high-five Death in greeting.

Daphne's legs wrapped around Harry's body and he lost all thought. He was running purely on instinct. His hands roamed her body like hers had roamed his. He sucked and nipped at her lips, leaving them swollen and red. He was losing himself in Daphne and he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to be found again.

"Oh, bloody fuck!" Daphne growled, pushing Harry off of her and rushing towards the door. Harry was confused. What had just happened? Where was he? Who was he? What day was it?

Daphne yanked the door open and from his position on the sofa, he could see Malfoy and Hermione standing in the open doorway. What could they possibly want? Harry was about to get up to greet them when he noticed his blatant erection. He quickly covered himself with one of Daphne's throw pillows and hoped to Merlin that it would go away. He felt like a randy teenager.

"See, Hermione? I told you she was fine," said Malfoy before walking into the flat. He took one look at Harry and nearly burst out into laughter. "Potter's here to take care of her." Harry glared at Malfoy but didn't move the pillow. The situation was horrifying enough.

"I just had to be sure," Hermione said, entering the room and standing beside Malfoy. "After Malfoy said that you looked like an inferi, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. I'm sorry that I wasn't there during lunch. Wouldn't you know? The one time that I decide to leave for lunch and you show up."

"You were at the ministry today?" Harry asked Daphne. When Harry had gotten Daphne's owl, he assumed that she'd be too busy at work to have lunch with him. Why had she been at the ministry and why didn't she come to see him?

"Yes, but I wasn't there long. After my rounds in the orthopedic ward, I decided to stop by the ministry and see Draco and Theo for a bit," said Daphne, a blank expression on her face. If Harry hadn't come to know Daphne so well, he might've believed her. She was a very good liar, afterall. However, Harry wasn't buying it. He wasn't going to press the issue with an audience though.

"Where did you go for lunch?" Harry asked Hermione, instead of asking the questions he really wanted to ask Daphne.

"She went to lunch with that tosser Oliver Wood," Malfoy grumbled, answering for Hermione.

"He asked me where I went for lunch. Not with whom did I go to lunch," Hermione said before rolling her eyes.

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. He was under the assumption that Hermione and Malfoy were an item, or very nearly one. He had never known Hermione to be interested in Wood. The only thing that the man ever talked about was Quidditch, which would drive Hermione insane. She never really liked the sport but Harry, for the life of him, couldn't understand why.

Wood was teammates with Benjy Williams, the man that Ginny had her affair with. The fact that Hermione was dating someone who was close to Benjy Williams disturbed him more than the idea of her dating Malfoy. At least he knew to expect that Malfoy was a slimy git. He knew how the bastard worked. Benjy Williams was an unknown fucker.

"You're seeing Oliver Wood?" Harry asked Hermione. Her face quickly reddened but she kept her composure.

"We're only friends," said Hermione, her eyes cutting to Malfoy who had an eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"I don't see how that's possible. The man has very limited brain function," Malfoy quipped. He sounded jealous to Harry.

"Well, now that I've seen that you're okay, I guess we'll be leaving now," said Hermione heading towards the door and not giving into the argument that Malfoy was sure to ignite.

"Wait," said Harry standing up quickly. He had Malfoy and Hermione together. He needed to tell them what was going on in the Auror department with Crabbe. Daphne was right. Hermione needed to know because her life could very well be in danger. If Malfoy and Hermione were as close as they appeared to be, then Malfoy's relationship with Hermione could endanger him as well. He only hoped that he wasn't making a mistake.

Harry, in his haste, forgot about the pillow on his lap as it fell to the floor. He looked down to see that he no longer had an erection and silently thanked Merlin. Leave it to Hermione's life of romance to act as a cold shower for him.

"I have to tell you two something. It's very important." Hermione and Malfoy looked at him with confused and curious expressions. Harry quickly told them a diluted version of the previous day's activities. He didn't want to give too much away, but wanted to tell them enough so that they could be prepared in case anything happened.

After Harry was finished, Hermione looked like she was on the verge of tears while Malfoy looked bored, as if he knew all of this already.

"You don't seem very surprised, Malfoy," Harry noted, his eyes narrowing at the ferret-like blonde.

"Well, what the fuck did you all expect? You let them all walk free!" Malfoy sneered before running his fingers through his hair. "You got rid of the Dark Lord and that's great, but the Dark Lord gained a lot of his power from his followers. Without a leader, they'll just find another one to fill those shoes and continue on with the same bullshite."

Harry couldn't argue with him. He knew that Malfoy was right. He had made the same argument to the Wizengamot before any of this happened. When the freedom of these murderous Death Eaters was on the line, he fought valiantly against it. Letting those monsters walk away nearly unscathed was like spitting on the victims of the war. It still made Harry sick to think about it.

"Have you heard anything about a Death Eater uprising?" Daphne asked Malfoy. He shook his head and laughed a humorless laugh.

"I'm sure if they really are planning something, I'm not invited. I've already made my feelings on blood purity known. As far as my father is concerned, I'm a Blood Traitor. I'm as bad as any Mudbl- muggleborn in his eyes," said Malfoy. Harry was still skeptical but, Malfoy sounded sincere. However, Harry wouldn't be letting his guard down completely.

"So, what are we going to do?" Hermione asked, her eyes no longer wet with unshed tears. The look of determination on her face made her look like she was ready to go to war.

"Nothing yet," said Harry. They couldn't do anything until the Aurors gathered more information. "Just keep your eyes open."

"Wait a second. What do you mean _we_?" Malfoy asked, turning his attention to Hermione.

"You can't expect me to just stand by and do nothing," Hermione said indignantly.

"That's exactly what I expect. Hermione, you are exactly the type of person they'll be after. You can't draw more attention to yourself by getting involved in this," said Malfoy, nearly pleading with her. By the serious look on her face, it was obvious that Hermione wasn't going to be moved on the issue.

"I think it might be a bit too late for Hermione to lay low at this point, Draco," Daphne scoffed. "Saving Wizarding Britain might have gained her just a wee bit of attention afterall."

"If you think that I'm just going to stand by and wait for my number to be pulled by these monsters then you don't know me very well at all." Hermione stomped her foot angrily before marching out of Daphne's flat.

Malfoy watched her go and groaned in frustration. He pulled at his hair until it was almost as unruly as Harry's.

"She can't get involved with this, Potter," Malfoy said, turning his attention to Harry. Harry agreed with him to a certain extent, but he was no fool. He knew better than to say that to Hermione.

"She's done all of this before," Daphne said. Draco turned a glare towards her.

"That was dumb luck. She may not be as lucky this time. If you heard what they wanted to do to her _last_ time… They wanted Potter dead, but Hermione went against everything that they stood for. She was a blatant argument against their beliefs. She represented everything that they thought was impossible and she shat on everything that they were taught. It was almost a personal offense in their eyes. If they go after her. If they actually get to her…"

Malfoy took a deep breath before straightening his hair and his robes. Harry could feel guilt washing over him. Hermione may have been all of the things that the Death Eaters despised, but she might have been able to go unnoticed if she weren't best friends with Harry Potter. He had expressed his thoughts to her before, but she effectively quelled his argument saying that she would've thrown herself into the fray with or without his presence.

They did win the war out of sheer dumb luck. They worked hard to reach their goal, but there was no way that they should've won against fully grown wizards who were using extremely advanced dark magic. Being an auror, Harry was exposed to dark magic on a nearly daily basis. He realized how lucky he had been as a kid coming out of a war nearly physically unscathed. He and Ron were better able to handle dark wizards and witches; Hermione's job didn't ask the same requirements of her.

"I'm going to go find her," Malfoy said, heading towards the door. "Goodbye, Daphne. Potter." With that, he was gone. Harry and Daphne were alone once again.

"Well, that was interesting. I suppose the mood has been effectively killed. So," Daphne said, walking towards the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"

"You were at the ministry today?" Harry asked her again. Now that they were alone, he needed to ask the questions that he couldn't before. "If you didn't want to have lunch with me today, you should've just told me."

"No. It wasn't like that," Daphne said before taking a deep calming breath. "Alvarez wanted to go on rounds with her on the ortho ward. She asked me to take a later lunch and so I agreed which is when I wrote to you. But, the first person that I saw on my rounds… startled me."

Daphne didn't have to say who it was. Harry knew that it was his ex-girlfriend that took Daphne out of her comfort zone.

"After that, I just kind of went to the ministry. I wasn't hungry and I was too tired to really think of anything else, so I just kind of wandered around until Theo found me. And that's when we went to Draco's office." Daphne looked up at Harry, willing him to believe her. Harry did, of course, but he couldn't understand why she wouldn't and least visit him while she was there. He was busy at work, but he still would've made time to say hello.

"After seeing… your friends, I got it into my head somehow that you had a harem of women and that I was being added to it. I didn't want to see you because… I might've asked you about it and you'd either think I'm insane or ask me to join and I… I really shouldn't be allowed out of my flat without sleep ever again. I'm a danger to myself and society," she mumbled.

Harry laughed. He couldn't help himself. All of that could've been avoided if she just talked to him, but he supposed in her lethargic state it all made sense to her. Harry could barely handle being in a relationship with Daphne without fucking it up. How was he going to handle anyone else?

"As flattered as I am that you think that I could have a harem of women, Daphne, I really don't have the time. What with spending all of my free time with my beautiful girlfriend, I wouldn't be able to give anyone else any attention," Harry said after noticing that Daphne looked offended that he was laughing at her.

"I suppose that they would feel pretty neglected," said Daphne, a small smile on her face.

"I'm sure they would. A harem? Really?" Said Harry before chuckling.

"They were both very beautiful. And they called themselves your "dirty little secrets"," defended Daphne, her thoughts becoming more ridiculous by the seconds. Harry raised an eyebrow at her. Although he never really talked about either of them, he only really made a purpose to not bring up Ginny; Luna wasn't a secret at all.

"Well, I have no idea what Luna was on about. But, they're not my "dirty little secrets". If you really want to know about them, then I'll tell you. Luna was a very good friend at Hogwarts. She was a member of DA and, like I said before, brilliant. There was never anything between her and I. We were just friends. Ginny on the other hand… was more?" He said, although it sounded more like a question to him. She was definitely more than a friend; there was no doubt about it. Friends didn't do the things that they did with each other.

"I never really talk about Ginny. The only people that bring her up to me are Hermione and Ron and even then it's rare. We just have so much history between the four of us that it's kind of impossible for her not come up in some conversations," Harry informed her. "I rarely even think about her."

"Too busy with your beautiful girlfriend, I suppose?" Daphne teased.

"Oh, you have no idea. She can be a bit of a handful," Harry said before Daphne grabbed his hand and walked towards the kitchen.

"Excuse me?" Daphne asked, mock fury in her voice.

"Difficult like you wouldn't believe. She's gorgeous, don't get me wrong. But, she can be a bit much. If you saw her at a Quidditch match you'd wonder how she hadn't been locked up in Azkaban yet. And you don't even want to know about the Excalibur story!"

Daphne gasped and smacked Harry on the arm.

"You said you'd never bring that up again," she said, her face burning red.

"I said no such thing. You said that you'd hit me if I ever brought it up, and I said "ok". I brought it up and you hit. So, we're still following the agreement."

Daphne's eyes narrowed at him. "How were you not sorted into Slytherin?"

Harry laughed and ran a hand through his untidy hair. "I begged the Sorting Hat."

"Well, you're in luck. Only Slytherins are able to eat my delicious bacon sandwiches, but since you're cute, I guess I can bend the rules for you. Just this once," Daphne teased, before pulling Harry into the kitchen.

-x-

The next day, Harry found himself whistling as he stepped into the ministry. He was a bit early, so he decided to go to Hermione's office before his work day started. He wanted to make sure that she was okay. She left Daphne's flat abruptly the night before and he hoped that Draco hadn't made matters worse by going after her.

Most of the ministry workers weren't there yet, but he knew that Hermione would be. She was usually there an hour before everyone else was. He knocked on her office door before hearing a soft "come in". He stepped in and saw Hermione's untidy desk, papers everywhere and quills scattered about.

"Your desk-," he started to comment before thinking.

"I know. It's not usually like this. The Minotaur case is just getting a bit stressful right now. There was a murder of calves not too long ago, and so now that's just thrown a wrench in all of our plans."

"Are you okay?" Harry asked her, noticing that her hair was wilder than it usually was. It looked like at any moment, it could gain a mind of its own and start to strangle her.

"Of course I'm not, Harry. They were only calves! Children! They couldn't defend themselves and these wizards in Cyprus thought that it would be funny to take their lives. How can people sleep at night after doing such a thing?" She asked him. Harry didn't know how to answer. He often wondered the same things at night.

"I'm sorry Hermione. Anything that I can do to help?" He asked, his go-to response any time he was afraid that Hermione was unraveling.

Hermione smiled at him before shaking her head. "No, but thank you, Harry."

"I actually came here to see if you were okay after last night," Harry said softly. Hermione's eyes widened for a brief second and then she nodded her head slowly. It looked to Harry as if she had almost forgotten about the entire ordeal.

"Yes. I'm fine. I'm not surprised if I'm being truly honest with myself. Something like this was bound to happen after so many of them were able to walk away with only probation as a punishment." Hermione laughed a humorless laugh. The same idea had been floating around a lot lately. The resurgence of Dolohov followed by Crabbe's imprisonment of Scamander had everyone in the Auror department cursing the Wizengamot and its corruption.

"If you need to talk, I'm here," said Harry, turning around, getting ready to head to his level.

"The same goes for you, Potter," Hermione called after him. Hermione knew better than anyone how bad Harry was at not expressing himself. He liked to handle things on his own. He was getting better at opening up to his friends, but he could always improve.

When Harry reached the Auror department, he sat down at his desk and began to work on the paperwork that he hadn't finished the day before. He really needed to get better at completing his paperwork before the end of the day. It took away too much of his time from doing actual groundwork.

"Hey, Harry!" He heard someone call his name before he could even make a dent in his paperwork. He looked up to see Carlton Astro walking towards him. Harry hadn't spoken to the rookie Auror since his mission to apprehend Dolohov. He liked Astro much more than he liked Mercury, but that wasn't a very difficult thing to do.

"We have a mission. We're supposed to inspect the Nott Manor for any dark artifacts. Robards wanted me to let you know as soon as I saw you. He wants us to go as soon as possible."

Harry nodded and put his paperwork back in its folder. He supposed he'd have to deal with it another time. He just hoped that he wouldn't fall too behind.

"Who's on the mission?" Harry asked, hoping against hope that Astro's best mate, Mercury, wouldn't have to tag along. Astro was much more capable and less likely to get them both killed.

"Just the two of us," Astro replied. Harry nearly sighed in relief but instead nodded his head in acceptance.

"Alright. Let's head out."

When they apparated in front of the large gothic manor, Harry could feel the blood wards pushing against him. They would need acceptance from a Nott before they would be able to enter the gates.

Harry noticed a speaker box next to the gate and pressed the button before speaking.

"Good morning. I am Auror Potter and I have Auror Astro with me. We are here for a surprise inspection per your probationary agreement."

A few silent moments passed before the gates opened and the blood wards were suppressed. He nodded his head at Astro and they began to walk into the gates, their wands in their hands.

Before they reached the door, it was opened to reveal an older sickly wizard with gray hair yellowing skin.

"You'll find nothing here," he wheezed before entering a coughing fit. "But feel free to waste your time pulling up the floorboards."

Harry entered without speaking a word to the wizard. He knew that this was the father of his girlfriend's friend, Theodore Nott.

"How lucky I must be to have my presence graced by _Harry Potter_ ," he sneered, displeased with Harry's silence. "Tell me, is my son done galvinating with Mudbloods and lunatics or is he still too foolish to think that I'd allow such abominations to touch the House of Nott?"

Harry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He wasn't close enough to the younger Nott to be able to answer that question, but for some reason, Lord Nott believed that he was.

"Sir, we're just here to make sure that you're not violating your probation," said Astro, clearly uncomfortable with the older wizard. He couldn't blame him. He was very certain that this man was present in quite a few of the Death Eater missions where the objective was to kill innocent people. Fortunately, in Harry's opinion, his lifestyle and age seemed to be catching up with him.

"You tell Theodore that if I hear he's planning on making that Half-blood bitch a part of this family, I'll kill the both of them," he spat, a wild look in his eyes.

Astro looked at Harry for direction, but Harry was too busy looking around him at the manor's dark decor. The way that the large mansion was decorated anything could be a dark artifact. He wasn't sure if it was meant to come off so dark or if years of continuous dark magic had somehow altered the home forever.

"May we see your library?" Harry asked, ignoring the old wizard's outburst. He really didn't have any concern for the personal spat between the father and son, but he made a mental note to mention it to Robards anyway. He wondered if Daphne knew about the rift between her friend and his father. If she did, she never mentioned it to him.

The old wizard led them up the stairs and down a dark hallway. He opened a pair of double-doors and they were shown a large library that looked as if it hadn't been used in years. It smelled of mildew and there were spiderwebs hanging from wall to wall, leaving it impossible to walk in without disturbing them.

The spiderwebs seemed unusual to Harry however. Instead of the thin, silky webs that were characteristic for most spiders, these webs were a dark yellow and much thicker than the normal webs. There was only one spider that created such webs, but Harry's mind was drawing a blank.

Harry turned to ask the older Nott why he hadn't taken better care of his library, but he stopped once he saw the old man taking steps backwards. Harry raised an eyebrow at the old man before realization hit him.

"Well, I guess we better start to get work then," Astro said taking a step inside of the library, his foot disturbing a single strand of the spiderweb. Harry tackled the younger Auror out of the way before the library was up in flames, small explosions and fire burning up the library before their very eyes. Harry cast a quick protection charm around the pair as to not get anymore burns from the heated library.

Harry turned his attention to the old sickly owner of the manor and saw him aiming a wand at them.

"Lower your wand," Astro said authoritatively from the floor. Lord Nott laughed and Harry rolled his eyes. Of course he wasn't going to just lower his wand. If he listened to orders then he wouldn't have rigged his library with Aleanakib Alttafra. The Egyptian spiders were rare and used by ancient Egyptian wizards to protect their tombs after death. How the old wizard got his hands on these spiders was a mystery in itself.

"I don't think that I will," said Lord Nott before erupting into another coughing fit. His body was wracked with coughs, blood splattering between his lips.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, quickly disarming the older wizard while his body was busy trying to get air into his lungs. The old wizard fell to the floor and continued to wheeze and gasp for air. Harry and Astro stood up and quickly grabbed the old wizard and placed him in magic-draining handcuffs.

"What the fuck just happened?" Astro asked, the edges of his robes burned and ash covering his face. Harry couldn't answer because he was wondering the same thing.

 **And another chapter finished! I hope you all liked it!**

 **Please leave a review! They really do make my day. Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions, ask away and I'll get back to you. I try to reply to reviews whenever I can.**

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 **Thank you all, and see you next time! x**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello, All and Happy Tuesday! I hope you are all doing well!**

 **I would like to reiterate that this story is labeled under Romance/Humor but it is so much more than that. There will be action. There will be drama. There will be suspense. There will be clowns. (Probably not, because clowns fucking suck.)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I do own a scooter that someone almost hit with their car yesterday. Seriously, people should learn how to drive.**

 **I would like to take time out to thank those who have reviewed. I read all of them and it makes my heart swell when I see that I've gotten another. It's a really great feeling.**

 **trispectrum, Xarvas, chm01, jessiek23, barbaroja, Kagemaru Raiden, SoapOpera, Vi38, Awesomeace18, feydran, Raven097, Shannon186, KrulciferAkitsukii, HeartsGlow, and JayD37.**

 **Without further ado, here is chapter 13.**

"Exploding spiders?" Robards asked, his eyebrows nearly reaching his hairline. Harry and Astro sat in the Head Auror's office, looking as if they'd had a visit to a dragon reserve. They were covered in ash and their clothes had been singed in some areas.

"Aleanakib Alttafra. They're native to Egypt and are extremely rare. It would be rather difficult to find, let alone sneak them into Wizarding Britain. And there were thousands of them, sir," Harry told the older Auror. Harry was thankful that he had known about the exploding spiders. Years ago when Ron and his family went to visit the oldest Weasley son in Egypt, Ron came back with many stories and tales; one of them being about the exploding spiders. He had forgotten most of the things that Ron had told him about his time in Egypt, but he was happy that he was able to remember the Aleanakib Alttafra. That knowledge certainly saved their life that day.

"Shite," Robards cursed under his breath. He ran a hand through his thinning hair and and took a calming breath. Harry could understand his frustration. Harry had the sneaking suspicion that there was something valuable in the Nott library, but thanks to the abundance of exploding webs lining it, everything had been destroyed.

"I'm going to need you two to fill out a report for what happened today," said Robards. "The Minister is going to want to hear about this one."

At the clear dismissal, Harry and Astro stood up, prepared to leave. Astro walked out of the office and when Harry and Robards were alone, Harry remembered something that he wanted to tell the Head Auror.

"Sir," Harry started. Robards was writing something down on parchment and looked up in surprise to see Harry still in his office.

"There was something that Nott said that I thought you should know about. It could be nothing, but I just wanted to tell you, in case it could be something." Robards raised an eyebrow and asked for Harry to continue.

"Before we got to the library, it seemed like Nott was trying to get information from me about his son. He kept asking me to relay information to him," Harry told him, remembering the crazed look in Nott's eyes when he brought up his son.

"Why would he ask _you_?" Robards asked. Harry shrugged. He had a good idea, but it still didn't make any sense to him.

"My girlfriend is friends with his son. They used to be in the same house at Hogwarts," Harry informed. Even so, he and the younger Nott were by no means close. They had barely said two words to each other. Ever. He didn't even know the bloke was dating anyone.

Robards looked thoughtful for a second. "Thank you, Potter. Make sure to put that down in the report. Write as much as you can remember of that conversation. Did he say anything about his son that might allude to him being present at any of the mettings?"

Harry shook his head quickly. It seemed to Harry like it was more of the opposite. To Harry, it looked like the older Nott hadn't seen his son in quite some time.

"Potter, I think it's important that we bring the younger Nott in for questioning. I want you to find his file and bring him in. You'll have to write your report at a later time," Robards ordered. Harry bit back a groan. He was going to be so backed up with his paperwork, but there was no arguing.

Harry nodded his head and left his boss's office. He walked towards the room where all of the files on the adults of Wizarding Britain were kept. After having so many dark wizards spring up within such a short time, the DMLE found that it would be better to be safe than sorry. If only the Wizengamot had taken a similar stance with the Death Eaters, this whole mess could've been avoided.

"Oi, Harry!" Harry turned around to see his best friend walking towards him. Ron's eyes widened at Harry's appearance.

"Wait, don't tell me! I can guess what happened to you. Did you find another Hungarian Horntail to wrestle with? Or maybe you and Daphne had a row?" Ron teased. Harry rolled his eyes but gave a small laugh.

"It's a long story. I have to run to the room of files," Harry said, making his way towards the room in the back of the office. Ron had to jog to catch up to his bespectacled best friend.

"I'm heading there too. I have to find a file on Mrs. Vinger. The old bat has finally lost her marbles. She started attacking a herd of jeweled swans in the Magical Menagerie today," Ron told him, shaking his head in disappointment. Harry knew that Mrs. Vinger had been an important person to a lot of people in Wizarding Britain. She was an old witch that lived in Diagon Alley. She would stand outside and hand out candies to young witches and wizards as their parents dragged them around for day shopping. Harry, unfortunately, was never a part of the tradition. By the time Harry was first introduced to Diagon Alley, the old witch had become something of a recluse.

"What are you heading there for?" Ron asked Harry. Harry went into a synopsis of his day, explaining where he had been all morning as well as explaining why he looked like he had been on the wrong side of a Chinese Fireball.

"Wow! Aleanakib Alttafra? They're nasty buggers, for sure. How did he even get them over here? They live in the desert, for Merlin's sake. He'd have to take extra care of them because they're so sensitive to their environment," said Ron, a confused look on his face. Harry shrugged his shoulders. He didn't have an answer. The Aurors that handled the inquisition were probably going to have to administer Veritaserum and use legilimency to get the truth out of the ancient Death Eater. After being at the end of Nott's wand, Harry assumed that the man wasn't going to be as forthcoming with information as everyone hoped he would be.

When they reached the Room of Files, Harry had quickly found Theodore Nott's. He was easier to find than others because he was grouped with all of the other wizards that had the dark mark permanently inked on their forearms. While Harry was on his way to the Department of Mysteries to retrieve Theodore Nott, Ron was still looking for the squeaky clean file of Mrs. Vinger.

Harry reached Level 9 of the ministry and was quickly spat out into the Entrance Room of the Department of Mysteries. The room was large, dark, and circular. Harry could only see due to the blue flamed torches lining the room. He looked around and saw several doors around the room. He walked towards the nearest one, hoping to find someone to ask where Theodore Nott might be, but when he got there, realized that the door was without a handle.

He took his wand out and tried to open the handleless door with magic, but nothing he did worked. He stood in front of the door and thought for a few seconds as to what to do. He couldn't go back to the Auror's office without the young Nott. Robards would surely have his skin.

Suddenly, a thought came to Harry. He lifted his hand to the door and proceeded to knock. He figured it was worth a shot.

A few seconds later, a man with bright red robes and a long mustache opened the door. "Hello. I'm looking for Theodore Nott," Harry said quickly. The man had a confused look on his face before it turned into one of understanding.

"You've got the wrong door," the man said shortly.

"Well, can you point me in the direction of the door that I can find him in?" Harry asked the red robed man. The man rolled his eyes and looked very annoyed. All Harry wanted was for the guy to point at the door he needed to enter. He wasn't asking for the man to compete in the Tri-wizard tournament.

"It wouldn't do you any good," the man said before stepping out of the doorway and into the large circular room with Harry. As soon as he passed the threshold, the doors started to move. It reminded Harry of the stairwells in Hogwarts, except they moved more quickly. The doors moved in every direction, some doors passing over others and other doors moving over the ceiling to get to the other side of the room.

The man looked around for a few moments before walking towards a door. He did a quick knock and then started spouting something that sounded like Hebrew to Harry. He wasn't sure and he didn't want to ask. He wasn't sure that he was allowed to. The Department of Mysteries lived up to its name; not many people outside of the department knew what went on there.

Shortly after, Theodore walked out of the door wearing light gray robes. Harry wondered if the different colors meant something. Maybe mustachioed man worked in a certain part of the department and Theodore Nott worked in another. Or, perhaps the mustachioed man was of a higher ranking than Theodore Nott. Harry didn't understand how anything in this department worked and he couldn't help but be a bit curious.

The red robed man walked towards a door on the opposite side of the circular room and walked through it as if it weren't there.

"Anything that I can help you with, Potter?" Nott asked Harry. Harry shook his head to clear it and turned his attention back to the reason for his visit. "Is Daphne okay?"

Harry nodded. "This isn't about Daphne. I have to bring you in for questioning," Harry told him in a business-like manner. He couldn't blur the line of business and acquaintanceship.

"What's happened?" Nott asked, looking as though he were about to panic. Harry couldn't have Nott losing his cool before he even got to the DMLE.

"You'll find out once we get back to the Auror's office," Harry told him. Nott still looked like he was deep in thought, but he nodded and led Harry out of the dome shaped room.

After they took the elevator to Level 2 and walked to the Auror's office, Harry told Robard's secretary that he was taking Theodore Nott to Room 3 for questioning. After they got there, Harry motioned for Nott to sit down in the lone chair sitting in the middle of the room. The room was bare except for the single chair and a table. Harry stood across from him and leaned against the wall.

"Are you going to tell me what all of this is about?" Nott asked him. Harry shook his head. He wasn't allowed to.

"I was only told to bring you in," Harry told him. They both remained silent until Head Auror Robards and the two aurors that were going to be interviewing Nott came in. Harry was about to leave when Robards stopped him.

"I'd like for you to stay, Potter," he told him. Harry grimaced. He was going to be up to his neck in paperwork. He went back to his spot on the wall and stood there waiting for instructions.

"Hello, Mr. Nott. How are you today?" one of the aurors asked. Harry believed her name was Montgomery.

"I'd be better if I knew why I was pulled away from my work," Nott said, his face and tone emotionless.

"And what is it exactly that you do?" the other Auror asked. Harry was drawing a blank on his name. He was large, bald, and had a very deep voice. He wasn't a favorite amongst the aurors. He wasn't very friendly and was a bit of a condescending prick, in Harry's opinion.

"I work in the Department of Mysteries," Nott told him.

"Doing what?" the auror asked. Harry rolled his eyes. Of course Nott wasn't going to tell him what he did in the Department of Mysteries. That's why it was called the Department of Mysteries and not the Department of Come the Fuck In and Look Around Why Don't You.

"That would be none of your business, sir," Nott said, his voice still emotionless. Harry was surprised that Nott didn't have a more venomous retort. Malfoy sure would've taken the opportunity to insult the auror's intelligence while also taking a jab at his upbringing if he were in his friend's position.

"When was the last time that you talked to your father?" Montgomery asked before the other auror could ask another question. Nott looked relieved at the question, which surprised Harry. What other reason did Nott think that he was brought in? And why was he more relieved that this was about his father than something else? What was he up to?

"I haven't talked to my father in months," Nott answered.

"Why not?" Montgomery asked.

"We have a different of opinions. He thinks that he should be able control my life and I don't."

"I thought you purebloods were all about "family values" and the like," the nameless auror commented. Nott's eyes narrowed at him for a fraction of a second before his face became emotionless again.

"Do you mind expounding upon that?" Montgomery asked Nott, regarding his answer. Her eyes quickly shifted to the nameless auror in warning.

Nott took a deep breath before answering."6 months ago, I entered a relationship with someone that my father didn't approve of. He ordered me to end things with her, but I refused. We haven't talked since then. He said that I had to make a choice, and so I did."

"Who are you in a relationship with?" Montgomery asked. Nott took a quick glance at Harry before turning his attention towards Montgomery.

"Luna Lovegood."

Harry's eyebrows raised in surprise. He wasn't expecting that. Sweet, loving, good Luna Lovegood and Theodore Nott. While it was true that Harry didn't know much about the guy, he didn't get the sense that he and Luna would be compatible. He was a former Death Eater for Merlin's sake.

But, he supposed that people had similar thoughts when they saw him holding hands with Daphne Greengrass. He knew that it didn't have to make sense to anyone else; other's validations weren't necessary.

"The woman that owns the Quibbler?" the other auror asked, his nose wrinkling in confusion. Nott didn't bother answering the question, so the auror continued. "She's a bit loony isn't she?"

"No," said Harry, speaking for the first time in quite a while. The other aurors seemed to have forgotten that he was there and Robards raised an eyebrow at Harry questioningly. "We're friends. Luna and I," Harry explained.

"A lot of idiots think that she's loony. Don't feel too bad about it," Nott said, his tone remaining neutral. The auror's face reddened and looked like he was about to retort when Robards cut him off.

"Has your father been to Egypt recently?"

Nott shook his head. "Not that I know of. But, of course, I haven't talked to him in quite some time, so if he were to travel to Egypt I wouldn't be told about it anyway. He didn't go before our… disagreement. He rarely ever leaves the manor. He's very sick."

"Do you know how he would get his hands on exploding spiders?" Robards asked.

"Aleanakib Alttafra?" Nott asked. Robards nodded his head. "I thought that they were extinct. I honestly have no idea how my father might've obtained them. He has shady friends in Knockturn Alley, but I was never introduced to them."

"You want us to believe that your Death Eater father didn't introduce his Death Eater son to his Death Eater friends?" the nameless auror asked, still upset at Nott calling him an idiot.

Nott chuckled a cold laugh. "Yes."

"Bullshite," the auror cursed. "Sir," he said before turning his attention to Robards. "I think that we should use Veritaserum. We're not going to get a straight answer from this one." Harry couldn't help but notice that all of the answers that Theodore Nott had given were straight. The bald man was just biased because Nott wasn't the typical person that he was used to interviewing. He was calm and collected. He was by no means nice or friendly, but he wasn't rambunctious or spitting mad like the people that usually came through here.

Also, Theodore Nott was marked as a Death Eater. A lot of people in the Auror office had lost someone to Lord Voldemort. The wars had been the pushing factor for most of them to join the Aurors. Death Eaters weren't treated with the most respect, unfortunately.

"I believe that he's telling the truth," said Robards. The bald auror looked disappointed for a brief moment before turning to glare at Nott.

"I've been using Legilimency on him the whole time, Gabe. He hasn't been lying," said Montgomery.

"A lot of the Death Eaters knew Occlumency! That doesn't mean anything. Sir, I urge you to let us use Veritaserum."

Robards sighed. "Do you object to being administered Veritaserum?" he asked Nott.

"Whatever will let me get back to work," said Nott, a bored expression on his face.

"Something does bother me as odd," Montgomery said after pulling the Veritaserum out of her robes and placing the vial on the table in front of Theodore Nott. "You haven't asked a single question about your father."

Nott downed the truth serum in one gulp and shrugged. "Is he dead?"

"No," Robards answered.

"Then I don't really care."

The aurors repeated their questions and even asked a few more of Nott. This time, however, Robards forbade Gabe from asking Theodore Nott about his work. He wasn't going to have the Department of Mysteries be disrespected by one of his aurors, especially if the person being questioned was being honest the whole time. Nott's answers were the same as they had been before taking the potion.

After the questioning, Theodore Nott was allowed to leave and Harry was finally able to get back to his paperwork. However, he was only able to work for 20 minutes before it was time for him to head to lunch with Daphne.

They met at the Leaky Cauldron and upon seeing Harry, Daphne's smile faltered.

"What's happened to you?" she asked him before using her wand to clean him of the ash that still littered his body.

"It's a very long story," he told her before bringing her in for a hug and kissing her. She smiled into the kiss but quickly broke it off. Harry frowned but he understood. They were still in public. There was no way that they were going to pick up where they left off the night before.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked after they sat down at a table.

"Not really," he confessed. "How was your day?"

"It was rather slow today, so I've just been studying like crazy. I think that Alvarez is going to take me to the pediatrics ward sometime next week, so I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for that. I think that children are a little more difficult to handle than adults. I'm actually pretty afraid."

Harry smiled at Daphne. Whenever she talked about her work, her eyes lit up. Her smile would brighten and it was nearly impossible for Harry to fight his own smile from taking over his face. Daphne was truly passionate about being a Healer.

"You're afraid?" Harry asked her. Daphne nodded quickly.

"Are you kidding? Of course I'm afraid. They're children and they're sick. They haven't even really lived life yet and the ones that are at St. Mungo's are suffering. If I fail them-,"

"You're not going to fail them, Daphne," Harry said encouragingly. Daphne gave him a small smile and his heart swelled.

"They're also unreasonably sticky at all times. I don't know how children can always find some way to dirty their hands," Daphne teased, lightening the mood. Harry laughed.

"That is true. Children are sticky, for some reason. But, are you really going to tell me that you didn't get your hands dirty as a kid? Playing in dirt and getting messy?"

Daphne raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend and scoffed. "Have you met me?" Harry laughed. He couldn't picture Daphne getting her hands dirty at all. He couldn't even imagine a young Daphne playing or running around outside at all.

"My mother would have had my skin if I played outside or got dirty. She was not fond of little girls covered in sweat and smelling like dirt. I, however, was the absolute queen of tea parties," Daphne explained. Harry could believe it.

Harry couldn't say that he had an amazing childhood; he didn't have any friends before attending Hogwarts and spent most of his time being the living, breathing punching bag of his cousin. But, even while he was hiding from Dudley and pretending that he was somewhere else with a family that loved him, he still found time to play outside. Harry believed that Daphne was truly missing out.

"Did you get a chance to see Hermione this morning?" Daphne asked him after a few moments. Harry noded. He had only spoken with her briefly, but she seemed to be doing well. She was stressed out, but Hermione was always doing millions of things at once. Harry made sure to remember to check on her again before the day was over, just to make sure that she wasn't on the verge of another breakdown.

"So, I've been thinking-,"

"That can't be good," Harry interrupted her. Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, but continued.

"I am getting whiplash from Draco and Hermione's relationship. They need to stop messing around and get on with it already. Really, it's maddening."

Harry shook his head. "I don't think that it's a good idea to get involved, Daphne," he told her. He made a purpose to stay out of his friends' relationships. He had learned his lesson during the breakup of Ron and Hermione. He was pulled in two directions by his best friends and they each felt like he was betraying them at some point by talking to the other. It was just one massive headache and he was glad that that was over.

"I'm not getting involved, really. I'm just going to lightly push. Lightly pushing isn't bad, right?" Daphne asked, before taking a sip of her water.

"Yes. Yes it is," said Harry, laughing.

"Oh, what do you know?" Daphne said, rolling her eyes. Harry knew that she was going to get involved in Hermione and Draco's relationship whether she should or not. He was still going to try to dissuade her, but he knew that it wouldn't do any good.

Although he wasn't the biggest fan of getting involved in Hermione's relationships, he couldn't help but secretly hope that Hermione would get far away from Oliver Wood. Wood was a nice enough person. He was a good Quidditch captain (if he was more of a military general in Harry's opinion) but he couldn't believe that he and Hermione would have much in common. Every conversation he had with the man centered around Quidditch and Harry knew for a fact that Hermione would get bored within seconds if the sport took up most of their conversations.

Thinking about relationships reminded Harry that Luna was currently in one with Theodore Nott. He wondered if Daphne knew about it. He assumed she didn't because she wouldn't have wondered about Harry having a harem if she knew that Luna was with one of her close friends. He wondered why Nott was keeping his relationship a secret.

"What are you thinking?" Daphne asked him, noticing the faraway look in his eyes. Their food had just arrived and Daphne was already enjoying it.

Harry shook his head and smiled at her. "I'm thinking that we should go outside and play after we're finished with work tonight." Daphne nearly choked on her food in surprise. Harry was happy that she didn't catch on to his little lie.

"Are you serious?" she asked him quietly. "What would we do?"

"What do you mean? We play!"

"I know. But like, are there games to play and stuff? I mean, do you have a plan?" she asked him, her eyes getting more and more excited by the second.

"I don't need a plan. We're just going to go outside and play." Daphne looked a bit wary but she smiled anyway. Harry knew that Daphne liked to have a plan, but he hoped that she trusted him enough to not need one.

Their lunch hour passed quickly and before he knew it, Harry was back at the Ministry. He slugged through his paperwork, regretting how much he had let it pile up. At the end of the day, he was completely finished with his paperwork and had given it all to Robards secretary.

As he was leaving the office, he remembered that he wanted to stop by Hermione's and see if she still okay. He made a quick detour to her department. He knew that she would still be there; it was far too early for Hermione to call it a night.

When he got to her floor, he could see that Hermione's door was opened. He could see Oliver Wood in her office and he thought about just leaving. But, then he caught a glimpse of Hermione's face and saw how sad and tired she seemed to be. Harry groaned and decided that he would stay for a few moments longer, just to make sure she was okay.

Harry was startled when he saw Malfoy standing against the wall a satisfied smirk on his face. How long had he been standing there and how had he not noticed him? So much for his heightened Auror senses.

"What did you do?" Harry asked him. Harry knew that Malfoy was somehow involved in this lover's spat between Hermione and Oliver. He looked too much like the cat that got the canary for him to be completely innocent.

"I don't know what you're on about Potter," said Malfoy, his smirk never wavering. "I didn't do anything. Hermione has just realized that she and Oliver weren't compatible as friends, or anything else for that matter, and decided to break things off."

Well, that explained Oliver's face. He didn't look too pleased. Now that Harry knew what they were arguing about, he figured that Oliver was pleading his case. He didn't really know how much good that would do. Hermione was impossibly stubborn and wasn't the type to change her mind if she was set on something.

"Now, I did, however give a little push. There's nothing wrong with a little push in the right direction," said Malfoy. Harry's eyes narrowed at him. Where had he heard that one before?

"Don't give me that look, Potter! They weren't compatible! Anyone could see that. All I did was tell Wood that if he really wanted to pursue a relationship with Hermione that he needed to just lay it all out for her. Tell her what's what. He shouldn't settle for friendship if he wanted more. The rest kind of happened on its own. Hermione isn't looking for more, especially with someone like him," Malfoy sneered.

Harry couldn't help but laugh. Everything that Malfoy was saying about Oliver would be the exact sentiment of majority of Wizarding Britain if Draco Malfoy and Hermione ever got together.

"And what would you have done if Hermione accepted his offer?" Harry asked. Malfoy looked taken aback before fixing his face into another smirk.

"She wouldn't," Malfoy said surely.

Suddenly, Oliver rushed out of Hermione's office and nearly bolted it out of the Department for Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures. Harry couldn't help but feel bad for the poor guy. Certainly Oliver wasn't one of his close friends, but they had gotten along pretty well in Hogwarts for the most part. He didn't deserve to be manipulated by Malfoy.

"You know, you're kind of an arsehole," Harry told Malfoy. Malfoy raised an eyebrow at him and laughed.

"Kind of?"

Harry rolled his eyes and entered Hermione's office. She had a guilty expression on her face, but she gave a small smile to Harry.

"You okay?" Harry asked, not even pretending that he hadn't seen the whole ordeal. Hermione shrugged her small shoulders. She really did look tired and overwhelmed.

"I will be. Everything is just a bit wonky at the moment," said Hermione quietly.

Suddenly a thought struck Harry like a bludger and a smile spread across his face. "I have the best remedy for that."

 **Pow! Another chapter in the bag. I hope you all enjoyed it!**

 **Please don't forget to leave a review! I love to read them. They make my ice-cold heart melt in the most fantastic of ways.**

 **Also, a special thank you to those that have followed and favorited! As I type this, NQSB has 379 follows and 224 favorites! Thank you!**

 **I must warn you that I will be traveling this week. It might be a bit difficult to upload another chapter, but I will aim for Thursday. It might not be the longest chapter, but a short chapter is better than no chapter… right? Right?! RIGHT!**

 **Thanks x**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello, All! I hope you all had a safe 4/20 yesterday. I spent most of it on the road fighting traffic, but I made it to my destination in one piece.**

 **This chapter is about half the length of the past few chapters, but I haven't been able to write much. I'm actually hiding away right now, because I'm supposed to be helping my boyfriend's mother cook for Passover (my very first one). But… matzoh is intimidating and tastes of cardboard, so I'd rather write this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I only own a scooter that I'm letting my friend use while I'm out of town.**

 **I would like to take the time out to thank those of you who have reviewed. I read all of them and most of them really brighten my day. So, thank you!**

 **Raven097, chm01, Kagemaru Raiden, fuzzy6, JayD37, Vi38, Xarvas, Awesomeace18, Khaos Risen, Spitkill, blackhak, trispectrum, BurningDay, feydran, and HeartsGlow,**

 **Without further ado, here's chapter 14**

"I'm really happy that you're here, Hermione. But why did you bring Malfoy with you?" Harry asked one of his longest friends.

Daphne, Harry, Hermione and Draco all stood in the middle of a muggle park. The sun had set, but the summer night was still warm. The park was empty except for the few random homeless people that walked by, grumbling and mumbling to themselves.

"I didn't bring him. He just kind of followed me here," said Hermione, her eyes narrowed at Draco who only smiled back at her. Daphne couldn't really complain at the addition, although Harry wasn't very ecstatic. Daphne knew that Harry wasn't the biggest fan of Draco, but he was slowly getting more comfortable being around his childhood rival. The few times that Daphne had been in Draco and Harry's shared presence, hexes and curses hadn't been shot from their wands, so that was improvement in Daphne's opinion.

"I was _escorting_ you. Excuse me for being a perfect gentleman," Draco said in mock offense. Hermione rolled her eyes and Daphne couldn't help but giggle at their interaction. Daphne didn't know what had happened between the two at work that day, but she got the feeling that Hermione was upset about something. "Why are we in a muggle park anyway, Potter?"

"Because, I've never really played outside," Daphne told him. Draco nodded his head.

"I can believe that."

"Never?" Hermione asked Daphne. Daphne shook her head.

"You've never jumped around in puddles or climbed a tree?" Hermione asked, still in disbelief. Daphne, once again, shook her head. She had never had the desire to do such things. The Greengrass manor was a very large house, but it didn't have much of a backyard like the Malfoy's did. Their house was on the edge of a cliff that overlooked a small river. There was a small garden in the front of the house, but it was only ever tended to by the house elves. Why would she go outside to play when she could just as well play inside without any danger of falling off of a cliff or messing up the garden and invoking the wrath of the house elves? Daphne hadn't realized that she had been missing out on anything until Harry became adamant that they remedy Daphne's playing experiences, or lack thereof.

"Daphne is a pureblood witch from a long and noble line. I'm not surprised that she wasn't able to play outside," Draco told Hermione, whose mouth was still hanging slightly open.

"What does her being a pureblood have anything to do with it?" Hermione asked him, finally regaining her voice.

"Pureblood witches, for whatever reason, are treated like expensive china. They can't be bruised, scratched, or harmed in anyway or their value would go down. No parents would agree to their son marrying a witch that had been scarred. It's an impurity. Unblemished, untouched, and unsullied by thoughts that could endanger the social order : all very important things to look out for when arranging a marriage between a young witch and wizard," Draco explained. Hermione looked outrage, but Harry gave Daphne a sad look.

Daphne was raised to know the importance of beauty and how crucial it was to maintain that beauty. Her mother would send packages of creams and lotions and scrubs that were meant to enhance Daphne's beauty. Daphne would send letters to her mother asking for a pair of thick dragonhide gloves that she could use in herbology when handling man-eating plants, and her mother would send her a potion that made her hands extremely soft and a note saying ' _be sure that when a man puts his lips to the back of your hand that is an enjoyable experience for him_ '. Daphne asked for a better telescope to use in Astronomy class, and instead her mother sent her a necklace with a note saying ' _who needs to look up in the sky and bother with constellations when they can look into your eyes and see the sparkle. This necklace will bring out your eyes more, darling._ '

Daphne didn't miss the days where her education suffered because her parents thought that it was unnecessary. Why would she have to worry about her O. when she could just marry the (of course he's a pureblood wizard. Only those with pureblood would be able to achieve such a feat) wizard with the best scores? Her father once commented that Daphne need not take such strenuous classes. Studying led to sleepless nights which led to wrinkles and bags under the eyes.

"So, what are we going to play?" Daphne asked Harry. She couldn't wait to skin her knee.

"How about we play tag?" Harry suggested, looking around for consent. Hermione shrugged her shoulders, but Daphne and Draco were confused.

"What's tag?" Draco asked, a pale eyebrow raised.

"Tag is a game where someone is "it" and has to chase the others around. When whoever is "it" touches (or tags) someone else, that person becomes "it" and they now have to chase everyone around," Hermione explained.

"That doesn't sound too complicated," Daphne commented.

"Because you suggested it, Harry, you should be "it" first," Hermione suggested, taking a few steps back before turning around and running. Daphne could hear Hermione giggle as she ran away and it triggered her own excitement. Daphne giggled too, as she followed Hermione's example and ran as far away from Harry as she could.

Daphne quickly tried to find somewhere to hide. She had run into a bit of a clearing, so she didn't have many options of places to hide. She saw a lone tree and quickly went to hide behind it, hoping that Harry was too busy trying to tag Hermione or Draco to notice that she was poorly hidden behind a tree that was too thin to really give much protection.

Daphne pressed her back to the trunk of the tree and took a deep breath. Daphne hadn't run so fast in her entire life and it felt both horrible and amazing at the same time. She peeked around the tree and didn't see any of her friends. Perhaps she had run too far? Maybe they should've set up perimeters so they knew where they couldn't go? What was stopping Daphne from just running home and hiding there? She'd surely win the game then.

"This is a very small tree. Next time, you might want to find one a bit bigger so it can hide you better." Daphne whipped her head around and found Harry smiling down at her. How the hell did he get to her so fast? She hadn't even seen him coming!

"I think that I should be excused. This is my first game outside and all," Daphne panted, still trying to regain her breath. Harry smiled down at her and shook his head.

"Not a chance. You. Are. It," said Harry before touching her forehead with a single finger. Daphne glared before reaching out and touching Harry's shirt covered chest.

"You're it!" she declared proudly. Harry laughed and shook his head again.

"Nope. You've got to count to 10 first and then you're free to tag whomever you want."

Daphne glared and pouted. She was sure that running away from "it" was a lot more fun than being "it" and having to chase others.

"Make sure you close your eyes," said Harry before kissing her pout away and running towards their original meeting place. Daphne huffed, but did as she was told. She contemplated on cheating, as she was sure that Harry had bent the rules to find her so quickly, but decided against it. She'd cheat once she became more comfortable with playing it the correct way first.

She started looking for her friends, but couldn't find anyone. To be fair, Daphne wasn't trying as hard as she should've been, but she was hoping that they'd get bored of hiding and come out of their safe places.

She walked around the small muggle park, finding nothing but small birds and a stray cat. She also came upon a homeless muggle man sifting through one of the trash bins. She contemplated for a brief moment of touching him. Harry did, after all, say that she could tag whomever she pleased. Sensing someone staring at him, the homeless man turned his attention to Daphne.

"The fuck you looking at?" he drawled loudly. Daphne quickly shook her initial thought out of her head.

Daphne came upon the children's area. There were a few contraptions that she didn't know the name of. She had seen muggle children playing with them before, but she had never known the names of them. There were leather straps attached to chains hanging from a metal bar. Daphne couldn't fathom how any adult would think that that would be safe for their child. But, Daphne supposed, magical parents were no better. Her parents _had_ sent her to a school with a history of danger and death around every corner after all.

Daphne was approaching the leather strap contraption when she heard mumbles coming from one of the large plastic tubes on the ground. Daphne thought that it might've been another homeless person. She wasn't interested in being cursed at by a complete stranger again, so she chose to ignore it until she heard a familiar voice. "Just take it the fuck off, Draco."

Daphne smiled a slow smile and creeped up on the tube. She was finally going to be done being "it". It would be someone else's turn and she could go back to being chased. Perhaps she would go back to the "too small tree" but instead, climb up into its branches. It would be a right of passage.

"AHA!" Daphne shouted, jumping in front of the tube and peering inside of the entrance. What she saw nearly stopped her heart and made her face turn the color of Weasley's hair. Hermione and Draco were in the tube, but she had no desire to touch either of them. Hermione was straddling a shirtless Draco in only her bra and knickers.

They all stared at one another in shocked silence for a few seconds before Hermione quickly tried to cover herself. Daphne backed away from the scene, still in disbelief, and fell, scratching the hell of her hand.

Daphne wasn't so surprised to find her friends in a compromising position as much as she was surprised to find them in a compromising position in the middle of a muggle park after dark during a game of tag.

Draco and Hermione came stumbling out of the plastic tube, trying to redress themselves as quickly as they could. Daphne kept her eyes on the ground, trying to give them as much modesty as she could.

"How long has this been going on?" she asked, eyes glued to the grass underneath her.

"There is no "this"," Hermione confessed, pulling her shirt over her head. "It's nothing, really. Just a mutually beneficial occurrence that won't be happening again" Draco's eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't say anything to contest what Hermione said. Hermione's face was still red as ever, but she tried to maintain a calm appearance.

"So, you two are just fucking then?" Daphne asked, still trying to understand the situation.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Daphne's vulgar words, but Draco nearly laughed.

"No," said Hermione as if it were the most obvious thing. "Things have been stressful at work. We both were desperate enough to try to relieve the tension. That is all."

Draco looked like he desperately wanted to say something, but instead chose not to. He kept looking at Hermione whose eyes were firmly glued to her shoes. Daphne wanted to pull her hair out in frustration. Why couldn't they just get over themselves?

"What? Is the game over? Did I win?" Harry asked, running towards the three friends, two of which were trying to look anywhere than in each other's eyes, and one who was desperate for eye contact.

"Yeah, Potter. Game over. You won," Draco grumbled. He stalked off towards the main street, leaving the park. Hermione looked like she wanted to go after him, but her feet stayed planted on the grass. Her eyes looked sad but her jaw was set. Daphne knew that look, and her closest friend was conflicted.

"Brightest witch of her age," said Hermione before giving a humorless laugh. Harry was obviously confused and kept looking back and forth between Daphne and Hermione.

"At everything except her own feelings," Daphne commented. "Why did you just let him leave?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and groaned. With how much Hermione rolled her eyes, it was no surprise that everyone in their small, but ever-growing, group of friends had picked up the habit. "It's not me! It's him! I'm not the one confused about my feelings. He is!"

Harry was about to ask a question, but Hermione quickly apparated out of the park, leaving a confused Daphne and an even more confused Harry. "What did I miss?" Harry asked, oblivious to the romantic drama that was unfolding in front of his eyes.

"A lot. I'll tell you about it later," Daphne told him. She wasn't even sure what she had just witnessed herself.

"Tag isn't as fun with only two people. I'm sorry that we didn't get to play for longer," Harry told her as they walked out of the park.

"It's okay. It could've been worse. And look," Daphne said, holding up her slightly bloody palm, scratches too shallow to have given much blood. "I've been injured. I'm as rugged as they come, you know. I might get into a bar fight for the fun of it. Wouldn't that be grand?"

Harry laughed and Daphne smiled up at him. Daphne didn't tell Harry how she scraped up her hand, but she supposed that skinning her knee from falling out of a tree was almost as cool as how she obtained her own injury.

 **See? A short chapter, but a fun chapter. I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **I'd like to update again on Monday, but we'll see how that goes. Game of Thrones marathon is in the forecast for me this weekend, but I'll try to get some writing done. Hopefully, a longer chapter than this one.**

 **Please review! I love to read the reviews! They make my heart flutter. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, be sure to put them in a review! I try to respond to all of them.**

 **I'd like to thank all of those who have followed and favorited NQSB. As I type this, NQSB has 418 follows and 247 favorites. Excitement!**

 **Thanks x**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello, All! I apologize for the short break that I've had. I went on vacation and was just too busy to write. Also, I'm a bit ashamed to say that I let a negative review creep into my head and strangle my will to write. I'm over it now, though. The reviews for this story have been overwhelmingly positive, and it was unfair and ridiculous to let a few bad reviews take away from the good ones.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I do, however, own a scooter that I haven't driven in weeks.**

 **Happy Mother's Day to those who celebrate in America. Funny story, my mother was looking at a picture of Emma Watson and didn't know who she was. Before I could tell her, my little sister who I'm reading the series with (we're on the goblet of fire) went into a Harry Potter fueled speech about the wonders of Hermione Granger. I've never been so proud.**

 **I would like to take the time out to thank those who have taken the time out to review:**

 **Raven097, HaywireEagle, Xarvas, fuzzy6, SoapOpera, Vi38, trispectrum, Dragul, Cateagle, Kagemaru Raiden**

A few weeks had passed since the awkward park fiasco and things were slowly becoming more normal. Or, as normal as they could be. Hermione and Draco were talking to each other again, thankfully, but Daphne had the suspicion that they weren't as close as they had been before she caught them sans clothing. She had tried to talk to each of them about their relationship, but she was met with the same response: stay out of it.

Harry was so incredibly busy that Daphne rarely saw him , and when she _was_ blessed with his presence, he looked as if he hadn't had a good night's sleep. He would apologize for his disappearances and explain what he could about the Death Eater cases that he was working on. He never gave much information, but Daphne wasn't sure if she was upset about it. Did she really want to know the gritty details?

Daphne couldn't afford to lose anymore sleep. The end of July was quickly approaching and she needed to prepare for the onslaught of exams that she would be taking. She had finally found the perfect combination of sleep, coffee and studying to ensure passing grades while still maintaining a semblance of health. Losing her concentration to Death Eaters would make all of the studying for nothing. She promised herself that after her exams, after her certification, after she was finally a healer that she would give more of her attention to the prejudiced cockroaches that just wouldn't die.

Daphne made a quick stop in a muggle cafe on her way to St. Mungo's. She had run out of coffee beans in her flat, and couldn't dedicate enough time to buy more. She stood in line, her mouth nearly watering and her eyes widening at the thought of the blissful vanilla latte that she knew that she deserved. After all, the previous day she HAD used wandless magic to mend the broken bones on a child after a quidditch accident. She could use a little treat.

When Daphne was second in line, she was nearly shaking with anticipation. Daphne was aware that she might have gained a slight addiction to caffeine, but she didn't care enough about it to do anything.

"I'll have small coffee and a large mocha latte, please," the man in front of her ordered. The barista had a faux look of sorrow and apologized.

"We don't have any of the syrup for mochas right now. We just ran out. We have an order coming in tomorrow, but until then…"

"Oh. Umm… That's fine. Can I have a vanilla latte instead?" the man asked. The barista nodded her head and started asking the mundane questions about milk preferences and extra shots of espresso. Daphne was able to tune them out until something caught her attention.

"And the vanilla latte will be for Astoria. A-S-T-O-R-I-A. No, not R-E. It's R-I," the man said with a slight chuckle.

Daphne's breath caught in her throat. Was Astoria a very common name? She hadn't heard of anyone other than her sister with the name, but, to be fair, Daphne didn't know many people to begin with. It had to be someone else. Her sister would never deign to have coffee from a muggle shop.

She strained her neck to see the face of the man, hoping to recognize him. From her spot behind him, and because of his height, she couldn't get a good enough glimpse without walking to a better angle. Daphne did a quick scan of the coffee shop. Was her sister actually there? Could she have been so tired while walking into the shop that she didn't notice that her only sibling was sitting somewhere?

Astoria was nowhere to be found. Daphne laughed at herself. Of course her sister wasn't there. What was she thinking?

"Excuse me, miss?" Daphne turned her attention to the front of the line and noticed that she was first. She blushed and wondered how long the barista had been calling for her attention. She quickly ordered her coffee and stepped to the side, waiting for it to be made and handed to her. She looked around, hoping to find the blonde man that had said her sister's name, but he was gone.

Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She made a mental note to buy coffee beans after work. She figured that she was a danger to society if she walked out of her house without being properly caffeinated. She took a small sip of her coffee and felt her mind sharpen nearly instantly. Yes, coffee beans would be a nice investment.

When she walked into St. Mungo's, Healer Alvarez was already in one of her sour moods. Well, Alvarez always seemed to be in a sour mood, but this particular mood was more sour than usual. She barely said two words to Daphne before handing her mountains of paperwork that she expected Daphne to finish before lunch. Daphne wanted to roll her eyes, but refrained. Daphne didn't mind doing paperwork, so long as it was hers. However, Alvarez was putting her responsibilities off onto Daphne, which was keeping Daphne away from actively getting hands-on-experience or simply studying.

Daphne was sitting in the trainer's lounge, parchment and scrolls surrounding her and completely overtaking the single table in the room. She hummed a soft tune to herself as she attempted to make a dent in the mountain of work before her. She was so caught up in her work (Alvarez's work) that she didn't notice that someone had walked into the room dedicated to the trainers. It wasn't until they cleared their throat that Daphne even looked up.

"Good morning, Daphne. You're looking exceptionally beautiful today." Thomas Clames was a Healer-in-Training like Daphne, but he worked under Healer Gupta. Clames was initially very nice to Daphne, but after her relationship with Harry had started, he wasn't nearly as friendly as he had been before. It startled Daphne that he was even speaking with her.

"Good morning, Clames," said Daphne, her quill still on the parchment in front of her. She hoped that whatever he wanted with her wouldn't take too long. Thomas Clames frowned at the impersonal use of his name, but he didn't frown for long.

"Word of the hallways is that you were able to mend a broken bone without a wand yesterday," said Thomas, his hazel eyes shining brightly.

"What of it?" Daphne asked him. She knew what he wanted, but she didn't know what he would have to offer her. If she helped him manage the little trick that she was able to pull off the day before, what would he give her in return? He didn't have anything that she desperately wanted.

"It seems like a rather useful trick. Do you think you could help me out with it? I, for some reason, just can't manage to get the bones to mend. I have the concentration down, but-,"

"What's in it for me?" Daphne asked, cutting Clames off from going into a long spiel that she couldn't really care less about. Clames looked a bit peeved about being interrupted, but quickly fixed his scowl into another smile.

"Information," said Clames in a small whisper. Daphne's eyebrow raised and she couldn't help but be a bit intrigued. "I know information about the upcoming exams and I could use that information to scratch your back if you don't mind scratching mine first."

Daphne had to seriously consider it. If Clames knew something about the upcoming exams that could help her, then she wanted to know what it was. But, what if she helped Clames and he was only able to offer useless information like "the prompter prefers quills from this specific store" or "when in doubt, go with C". It would be her own fault for giving her help instead of getting it first.

"Is that how propositions for a trade work? I believe that it is common knowledge, that the person seeking out the other should give whatever they have to offer before receiving," said Daphne, her eyes back on the parchment in front of her, feigning disinterest. She was deeply interested in what Clames had to offer, but he didn't know that. For all he knew, she could be more concerned with the rise of Wizard's Flu around London.

Clames smirked at her before sitting down in the chair that was next to hers. He moved some of the parchments around on the table so that he was able to place his elbow comfortably on the it before using his hand to hold his head up.

"I suppose you're right. That _is_ the normal way of things. But, honestly, I'm hurt that you don't think that I'd deliver on my half of the bargain. We're both Hogwarts alumni. Me, with my loyalty and dedication and you, with your slimy scales. We've got to stick together with all of the new Healers coming in from the continent." Daphne didn't even bother to correct Clames about his incorrect description of snakes. Instead, she continued to read over her parchment.

"Oh, I get it. It's the Slytherin in you that's making you so untrusting. Well, no worries, darling, for I have something to add that may just sweeten the deal. Not only will I tell you the secret information about the exam that only _I_ know about, but I'm doing rounds with Healer Panie today after lunch today, and I'll gladly switch with you. The rounds that he has planned for today go hand-in-hand with the information I'm going to give you," said Clames, his smirk evolving into a grin once he saw the curious look on Daphne's face.

"All of this because you want me to teach you my wandless bone mending trick?" Daphne asked skeptically. Healer Panie was an amazing healer. He worked heavily with the Department of Mysteries on finding cures to ailments that were incurable. In fact, Healer Panie had been instrumental in finding the cure for Neurofungulus which was responsible for taking out quite a few wizards and witches in South America. Healer Panie rarely ever took Healers-in-Training under his wing for rounds. This was something that Daphne couldn't pass up.

"Well, if you're willing to give something else up… how about your time? I'd be willing to go to lunch with you today." Before Daphne could properly roll her eyes, Clames started to laugh. "I'm only teasing!" Daphne eyes narrowed. She didn't find the teasing to be very amusing at all.

"Geez, where's your sense of humour?" Clames asked her.

"Must have left it with my boyfriend last night," smirked Daphne. Daphne knew that she hadn't even seen Harry the night before, but Clames didn't and his face showed his embarrassment. With his short brown hair and his reddened face, Clames reminded Daphne of a strawberry that needed just a smidge more chocolate on it.

"Don't fret, Clames. I'm going to take you up on your offer. You tell me all about your little secret about the exam and let me do your rounds with Healer Panie this afternoon, and I'll make time to teach you my little trick this weekend. It might take a few hours, so clear your schedule on Sunday." Daphne wasn't going to back out. She was really interested in working with Panie, of course, but teaching someone how to wandlessly mend broken bones, could very well hone her skills.

"Really?" exclaimed Clames, standing up from his chair and nearly knocking it over. "I'm so happy, I could kiss you!"

"I'd rather you didn't," said Daphne, her eyes glued to one of the many parchments from Alvarez. She had an even bigger motive to finish up Alvarez's paperwork than she did before. She didn't have a moment to spare.

"Right. Of course. I was only joking. It's a figure of speech," sputtered Clames. His cheeks turning pink. He sat down back down in the chair that he vacated only a moment ago. He leaned towards Daphne and she could smell coffee and cigarettes on his breath.

"Legilimency."

Daphne waited a few seconds to give Clames time to add something. Surely legilimency couldn't be the information that she had been willing to give her newly found trick for.

"Legilimency? That's it?" Daphne questioned after she realized that Clames wasn't going to say anything else.

"Yes. That's it," Clames said, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He assumed that Daphne would be a bit more excited at the information, but she only appeared to be disappointed.

"Do you know legilimency?" Clames asked her. Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Of course not. What purpose would I have to-,"

"I suggest you brush up on the technique and the magical qualities necessary to penetrate someone else's mind. And also, the application of it versus a potion and the medical benefits." Daphne's eyebrows furrowed. She didn't even know that legilimency could be useful for anything other than being a nosy bastard.

"That's all I'm going to tell you. I want to get the highest score in the program and I won't be doing that if I think over the information for you," Clames said before standing up and readjusting his robes.

"I thought that you were going to give me all of the information, Clames," said Daphne, her eyebrow raising.

"Tsk Tsk, call me Thomas. We're friends after all. Friends who are going to have nicely scratched backs. And I said I would give you information. I didn't say ALL."

"What happened to you being a Hufflepuff? I thought you lot were nice" Daphne commented, her eyes narrowing at him. She realized the double meaning of being friends with "scratched backs" but didn't give him the satisfaction of commenting on it.

"I AM a Hufflepuff. Hard-working and patient. Dear old Helga didn't say anything about her house being _nice._ With that, he walked out of the small room, leaving Daphne with her thoughts and tons of paperwork to finish.

She sighed and shook her head, hoping to clear her thoughts of that slimy git Clames so that she could get back to work. She figuratively and literally rolled up her robe sleeves and began to work, her little humming song forgotten.

-x-

"Oh, Greengrass. Off to lunch? I hope you've finished the assignment that I gave you this morning." Healer Alvarez was walking towards Daphne who was standing at the Nurse's station. Daphne reached into her tiny bag and pulled out stacks of paperwork, stacking them in Alvarez's outstretched arms. The undetectable extension charm that Hermione had taught her had certainly come in handy.

"In fact I am," said Daphne, smiling brightly. "I've been done for half an hour now. I was just finishing up some schedule changes. I'm taking over Thomas Clames' rounds with Healer Panie after lunch. We'll only be switching for the afternoon."

Healer Alvarez raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. Daphne assumed that Alvarez wasn't too pleased that she had enacted schedule changes without confirming them with her first, but she couldn't really be bothered with that at the moment. She was too excited to work with Healer Panie and she had a mild headache because of the mundane paperwork she was forced to do.

Without another word, she hurried off to Diagon Alley. She was to meet Blaise and Theo at one of the most exclusive restaurants in Diagon Alley, and she had never been. Her parents had enjoyed the restaurant as a spot for their dates, and as such, Daphne and her sister weren't invited. And when Daphne was old enough to go alone without a chaperone, she didn't have the funds to enjoy such a lavish menu that the restaurant supplied.

When she apparated outside of the restaurant and stepped inside, her eyes quickly scanned the dimly lit eatery.

"Excuse me, Miss. Do you have a reservation?" Daphne's eyes locked on the maitre d standing behind a podium.

"Yes. It should be under Zabini" Daphne turned around quickly to see Blaise standing behind her, a charming smile on his face. With his dark skin and infectious smile, it was no wonder that Blaise was such a playboy. The face that usually made girls melt and throw their undergarments at him only made her roll her eyes. The magic had worn off for her.

The maitre d didn't even scan the list in front of him before smiling and leading the duo to their table. Blaise pulled out Daphne's chair for her and she sat down and smiled politely, unconsciously setting into her pureblood upbringing. Her back was straight and she made sure to keep her hands in her lap.

"Theo should be here soon. He said he that he was almost finished with a project and would be on his way as soon as he was finished," informed Blaise. Daphne nodded before taking a sip of her water.

She looked around the small restaurant and couldn't help but be a bit critical. For so long, she had wanted to be there and it didn't seem that spectacular to her. She was disappointed by the decor and the poor wine choices available to her. Honestly, she would've rather been eating at the questionable Chinese place by her flat. Although she stayed away from anything that wasn't readily identifiable, she and Harry quite enjoyed the egg rolls.

"What's the big deal with this place?" she asked Blaise, who was skimming the wine list. Blaise shrugged before placing the wine menu down and reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out a flask. He took a swig and attempted to give it to her. Daphne wrinkled her nose.

"It's a bit early-,"

"Oh, don't even try that with me. I saw you eyeing the wine list. If you're willing to have a glass of wine, then why not take it a bit further and have a sip of whiskey? It would be better than drinking any of the grape juice their passing off for wine here," Blaise commented.

"Then why are we here? I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed that this place isn't at all what I expected it to be."

Blaise chuckled before putting his flask back into the inside pocket of his jacket, effectively hiding it from sight. Daphne couldn't help but wonder how often he sipped from that flask. How could he function while drinking alcohol during the day when Daphne was a mess without a cup of coffee?

"We're here because this place has charms set up to prevent other patrons from listening. More effective than a _muffliato_ and it blocks lip reading as well as mind tapping. It was a very popular spot for wealthy witches and wizards that were engaging in seedy deals with one another," Blaise explained.

Daphne's eyes widened. She never knew that. Her parents had been frequent patrons of the restaurant. Were they engaging in seedy deals that she didn't know about? Although Blaise didn't say it (and he didn't need to), Daphne knew that these wealthy witches and wizards were probably in cahoots with Lord Voldemort as well. She wondered if Harry knew about this place. She made a mental note to bring it up to him the next time that she saw him.

"You can stop looking around as if someone's going to jump out at you," Blaise teased, noticing the way that Daphne's eyes darted to and fro. Daphne's face reddened and Blaise chuckled at her embarrassment.

"You won't find many of those people here nowadays. Before the true fall of the Dark Lord-,"

"Lord Voldemort," Daphne interrupted, picking up the habit from Harry who corrected anyone who called the evil snakish man by anything other than the name he had given himself.

Blaise winced but continued. "This place only allowed purebloods. It didn't have a normal reservation list. It had a book of family trees dating back to the time of Merlin. If your family went far back enough and didn't have any… unseemly branches or leaves, you could have a seat. As long as you had the galleons to pay for it."

It was no secret to Daphne that her parents were blood purists. She had had many a speech given to her about the importance of bloodlines and magical purity. She hated to admit it, but she could easily envision her parents blending in with the crowd of bigots that frequented the restaurant.

"Are we going to be talking about something that doesn't need to be shared?" Daphne asked.

"I would think so. Theo suggested the place. I don't have anything to share," Blaise commented, taking another peek at the wine list before placing it back on the table in distaste.

"I find that hard to believe," muttered Daphne. Blaise laughed and put his hand to his chest in mock offense.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You always have something to share. Whether it be gossip, your opinion on someone else's fashion choices, or a nice serving of muggle gonorrhea, you've always maintained the "sharing is caring" policy. Everyone knows that you care quite a bit," Daphne teased. Blaise chuckled before schooling his face into a smirk.

"Is that what I've been doing all of these years? Caring?" Blaise questioned. "And I'll have you know that that bout of muggle gonorrhea was a one-time thing. For Merlin's sake, whatever happened to patient-healer confidentiality?"

"I haven't told anyone about it! I'm not a gossip. You, on the other hand, are worse than Witch Weekly. I can't imagine that whatever Theo has to say will remain between the three of us for very long," said Daphne. Blaise smiled at her before shaking his head slowly.

Although they spent majority of their time together taking jabs at one another, that was their relationship. They'd insult each other in a way that no one else could, and then laugh about it. Blaise didn't handle Daphne with kid gloves; he treated her the same way that he treated Draco and Theo. If Daphne were to go crying to Draco or Theo, they'd console her, talk to her, and possibly freak out from the outward showing of emotion. Blaise, on the other hand, would tell her to wipe her nose before people saw her, complain that she was a very unattractive crier, and hand her his hidden flask before changing the subject to something else. Daphne was okay with that.

Moments later, Theodore came striding into the restaurant. He hadn't taken too long, but Daphne was starving. She had only had a cup of coffee all day and she was regretting not grabbing a muffin earlier.

He sat down without a word and a waitress came and took their orders. The waitress flirted shamelessly with Blaise who shamelessly flirted back with her. Theo and Daphne locked eyes with one another before rolling their eyes.

When the waitress walked away, Theo finally spoke. "I apologize for my lateness. I got caught up with a project."

"Think nothing of it, Theo," said Blaise, waving his hand as if he were shooing away a fly. "Daphne was just telling me about the cameraman that's pressing charges against her for stealing his camera."

Daphne's eyes widened to the size of saucers. She definitely wasn't talking about that with Blaise. She hadn't told anyone about the cameraman besides Harry. Only seconds ago, Blaise was criticizing her cuticles and said something along the lines of 'if my healer had hands like yours, I'd gladly welcome Death before letting you touch me'. And this was the first time that she was hearing about this cameraman pressing charges.

"What? We weren't… Charges? I… I can't… What?" Daphne couldn't even speak properly. She had so many thoughts swirling around in her head, and she couldn't form a single one into words.

Theo raised an eyebrow at her and Blaise was trying and failing to hide a smile.

"Are you getting into trouble with the law?" Theo asked her, concern hiding under his teasing. "You start dating Harry Potter and you think you can just go around stealing people's cameras?"

"NO! He was harassing me! He wouldn't leave me alone! I had to take his camera. He took pictures and I didn't want him to. It should be illegal to do something like that. It's a total invasion of privacy," Daphne said, defending her decision to take that man's camera.

"I don't think you'll have too much to worry about. The DMLE has quite a bit on its plate right now. They don't have time to worry about papparazzi scum and their petty complaints," said Theo, trying to console Daphne.

"And it's not like they have much to go on. It's your word against his. Funny enough, the only witnesses were a group of quidditch players who were leaving a meeting about healthy media relations. Unfortunately for the pappazrazzo, they'll be too busy training for their game against Puddlemere United (which they better not fucking lose) and so won't be able to help him out much," Blaise said, a wicked twinkle in his eyes.

Daphne breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed as if the problem was solved before it could truly form. She was still annoyed that Blaise decided to tell her about it in such an insensitive way. She narrowed her eyes at him which only made him break out into a grin. She supposed she couldn't fault him; his lack of sensitivity was one of the things that she greatly admired about him.

AND he did seem to handle the situation pretty well. She hadn't heard anything about the cameraman since the event took place. She wondered how quickly he had gone to press charges against her and how quickly that had been thwarted by her friend.

"So, what's the news that you wanted to give us?" Blaise asked Theo. Theo straightened his robes, which Daphne noticed was a nervous tick of his. When Theo was nervous or anxious about something, he would go around straightening things. Hermione once complained that Theo had completely tidied up her desk after he submitted a risky proposal to the Minister of Magic. What the proposal was, no one knew, but the next day, Theo had gone back to his normal, relaxed demeanor.

Blaise and Daphne shared a concerned look with one another before Blaise schooled his features into one that was emotionless. Daphne reached across the table and gripped Theo's hand in hers. Daphne wasn't a very touchy person and neither was Theo, but he gave her a small smile for the nice gesture.

Their lunch arrived and Theo released Daphne's hand. She was happy that he did. She didn't want to appear insensitive, but her stomach was growling and demanding to be filled.

"I'm getting married."

Blaise choked on the bite of steak that he had just popped into his mouth and Daphne dropped her cutlery back onto the table. There was a long silence. No one moved except for Theodore who had quickly started to straighten Daphne's silverware.

"I don't think that I heard you correctly," Blaise finally said, effectively breaking the spell of shock that they were all under.

"You heard me just fine," said Theo, moving his hands back to his own plate. If Daphne didn't know what Theo's nervous tick was, she would've never guessed that he was uncomfortable. His voice was calm and his face never showed emotions. However, the peas on his plate were all in straight lines.

"You can't do that!" Blaise hissed. Theo's eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean I can't-,"

"You can't! Because you won't be Theo. You'll be Mr. Nott, husband to someone and possibly father to someone else. You're too young! Do you really want to give up the single life?" Blaise was completely thrown out of his comfort zone. He couldn't fathom anyone wanting to settle down. There were too many women to sample and too many beds that he hadn't tested out.

"I haven't been single for a while," Theo commented.

"I didn't even know you were in a relationship," Daphne said, speaking for the first time since Theo's great reveal. They all made such a big deal about Daphne not coming to them about her relationship, and Theo had had a secret love affair all along.

Theo raised an eyebrow at her, genuine confusion on his face. "You mean, Potter didn't tell you?"

" _Harry_ knows?!" How the hell did Harry find out before she did? Theo was supposed to be _her_ friend. Didn't anyone trust her?

"I was brought into the DMLE for questioning regarding my father. During the interrogation, which Potter was present for, I had to confess my relationship," Theo informed.

Daphne could feel her face redden, but she wasn't sure if it were due to embarrassment or anger. Theo was brought in for questioning and Harry didn't tell her. She knew that he wasn't allowed to go into detail about cases, but surely the rules could be bent when it concerned one of her closest friends.

"I'm going to be marrying Luna Lovegood."

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Again, I'd like to apologize for the delay. I hope to get back into the swing of things.**

 **I usually PM everyone who reviews to thank them for their input. Unfortunately, I haven't done that for the last few chapters. I'll be getting back to doing that as well.**

 **Please REVIEW! Stories with more reviews get more traffic! And that's the only kind of traffic that I like! I'm more likely to update sooner rather than later if I get reviews. They put me in such a good mood (for the most part) and I can't stop myself from writing. It's uncontrollable.**

 **I'd also like to thank those that have followed and favorited NQSB. This story currently has 507 follows and 302 favorites!**

 **Thanx**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello, All!**

 **I'm sorry for the delay. I got so many reviews last chapter and I was so stoked that I started writing immediately. And then, I got word that my grandmother passed away. It was as if all of the joy was sucked out of me. I couldn't do much of anything for a few days. With traveling to the funeral and grieving with my family, I didn't have the time nor the desire to write. We were very close. And, although she was sick and I tried to prepare myself for it, it hit me like a freight train.**

 **I'm hoping that writing will take my mind off of things. I'm hoping that writing will kind of bring balance back into my life. AND I'm hoping that I won't take too long to update the next chapter. I've already started to write it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I only own a scooter that is completely useless when it rains.**

 **I'd like to give a special shout out to those who have left a review. I really appreciate when people take the time out to leave a positive note or constructive criticism:**

 **Wewee, harryislife, BurningDay, SoapOpera, firetemplar415, Vi38, Anonymous1995, FierceDietyLinkMask, Kagemaru Raiden, Awesomeace18, Dragul, silvershadowseeker, fuzzy6, Cateagle, Raven97, Lordban, trispectrum, sachaelle, Ingriz, feydran, Tangyman, Slytherin Potter, SwishandFlick24, area808code, chm01, droosh, anothergoneagain, Draacoclaye, and e13! Thank you so much for the lovely reviews!**

There was a long pause. Their time at the restaurant had been filled with long pauses ever since Theo showed up. Daphne turned her attention from Theo to Blaise and then to Theo again. Theo was adjusting the length of the sleeves on his robes and Blaise was staring at Theo with a confused expression on his face.

The longer they were silent, the more uncomfortable everything became. Daphne wasn't upset that Theo was getting married. Quite the contrary, she was happy that her friend had found someone that he felt he couldn't live without. Marriage was a beautiful and fulfilling thing, or so Daphne had always imagined. There were no marriage contracts constructed by Theo's father and Luna's parents; they were going to marry each other of their own accord.

Daphne was upset that she hadn't been told about the relationship in the first place. She could understand why Theo would hesitate to tell Blaise anything that personal. He was an awful gossip. But, Daphne? Daphne could keep a secret. And, to be fair, it wasn't as if Daphne had many people to gossip with.

Although Daphne was hurt because she hadn't been trusted to keep the secret, she pushed through it. She allowed herself a smile and grabbed Theo's hand, startling the man from his unnecessary task.

"I'm so happy for you, Theo," she said honestly. Theo looked sceptical, but gave her a small smile in return. "I would like to truly meet her. Our paths have crossed a few times, but we've hardly said two words to each other. Maybe we can double date? I understand that she and Harry are friends. It could be fun."

Blaise rolled his eyes, but Theo smiled brightly. "I'm sure that she would love that," said Theo, visibly relaxing. Blaise snorted and crossed his arms. Theo's eyes cut to their Italian friend and Daphne couldn't stop the glare that overtook her face.

"You've got something to share, Blaise? Out with it," Daphne challenged. She knew that Blaise was going to give his opinion whether he was invited to do so or not. It was better to just get it over with.

"You're already being boring. Planning double dates. Next you'll be discussing the weather and complaining that quidditch is too dangerous a sport for your children and wouldn't it be nice to change the wallpaper in the dining room to eggshell because cream is too exciting for meals," Blaise complained, his voice becoming more harsh as he spoke.

"It has been unreasonably dry this summer. We're long overdue for a storm," Theo mused. Daphne laughed but Blaise scowled.

"That isn't funny," he mumbled.

"Blaise, last week you talked endlessly about how Millicent Bulstrode wore ivory to her sister's wedding and how she should've worn vanilla instead because it's not nearly as insulting the bride," said Theo, his fingers busy massaging the bridge of his nose.

"That's different."

"They're all white, Blaise. All of them. Ivory, vanilla, cream, eggshell; white!" Theo hissed at him. Daphne knew that there was a distinct difference between the four colors, but she wasn't about to side with Blaise, even if it was a trivial matter. She disagreed with Blaise's bigger argument.

"What Millicent wore to her sister's wedding was scandalous. Wallpaper isn't exciting," Blaise argued.

"I can promise you that I would've much preferred staring at white wallpaper than listening to you describe Millie's dress in great detail," Theo grumbled.

"Eggshell wallpaper."

"It doesn't fucking matter, Blaise!" Theo snapped. "I'm marrying Luna and that's all there is to it. I thought that I would do you the courtesy of telling you before she published it in the Quibbler tomorrow morning. If you can't be happy that I'm marrying Luna, then-,"

"I don't give a shite if you were marrying Gregory Goyle. You're getting married! That's the problem! You won't want to bar hop anymore. You won't want to be my wingman. Instead of taking impromptu trips to the States, you'll want to stay home and… I don't know… read or something," Blaise said, interrupting Theo before he could say anything that would sever their friendship.

Daphne knew that Theo wasn't a fan of bar hopping. She also knew that Theo would prefer to read in his spare time if he was given the option. He'd choose reading over eating if it wouldn't kill him.

"You don't need anyone to be your wingman," Theo said.

"That's besides the point," Blaise argued.

"You're going to miss him," Daphne said plainly. Blaise and Theo both looked scandalized at the blunt way that she said it, but she couldn't take the arguing much longer. It was obvious that Blaise felt like Luna would drive a wedge between the Slytherin boys. Although Theo and Luna had been, as far as Daphne could tell, been together for a while, Blaise felt as if though the act of marriage would make things different.

"Why? I'm not going anywhere," Theo told Blaise. "You won't be able to miss me."

"I'm not going to miss you," Blaise lied. Daphne and Theo rolled their eyes. If he wasn't having separation anxiety, then Daphne wanted to know what other reason Blaise had for acting so childish.

"Look, Blaise. Just because I'm getting married doesn't mean that I won't be dragged along on whatever bullshite adventures that you and Draco involve yourselves in. I'll still be there to dig your sorry arses out of trouble and scold you afterword. Don't think of it as losing me. Think of it as gaining Luna."

"And think of what fun you'll have with planning Theo's bachelor party!" Daphne added. However, she thought that that might've been the wrong thing to say. Theo's eyes cut to hers, discomfort evident in his dark blue eyes. Blaise, however, had a wicked smile slowly creep onto his face. It unnerved her and by the looks of it, it didn't really sit well with Theo either.

Blaise rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes dancing with mischief and delight. "Yes. Of course. How could I forget about your bachelor party?"

"Blaise, Luna and I haven't discussed-,"

"Where to have it? That really sets the mood, doesn't it? The venue. Can't be London. That would be absurd. An abroad bachelor party would better suit you, I think," Blaise thought out loud, completely ignoring Theo's reluctance.

"No strippers," Theo said firmly.

" _Right_ ," said Blaise before he winked at Theo.

"I mean it, Zabini! I'll curse you so severely that-,"

"I get it. _No strippers!_ I completely understand." Daphne believed that Blaise had finally given up the "strippers" debate until he looked at Daphne and winked at her. Theo rolled his eyes but Daphne let a giggle slip out.

Lunch resumed normally after that. They talked about Daphne's job and Blaise's most recent conquest. Daphne was nearly done with her meal when Blaise had gone into explicit detail and she was thankful for that. She would've surely lost her appetite had he started earlier.

As they were leaving, Daphne asked Theo to stay behind with her for a moment.

"Do you know legilimency?" Daphne asked him. Theo raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why?" Theo questioned.

Daphne went into an explanation about her conversation with Thomas Clames. At the mention of his name, Theo's eyebrows furrowed, as if he were trying to recall the face and place it with the name. Theo waited patiently for her to finish talking before he said anything.

"Yes. I do know legilimency," said Theo plainly. "However I'm not very good at it."

"Do you think that you could teach me? I don't have to be perfect, I would just like to be able to do it very minimally. I would really like to pass my exams the first time. I'd rather not have to redo this year."

"You'll have to learn Occlumency first. It's not a very pleasant experience. But learning occlumency will make things easier for you than jumping straight to legilimency," Theo explained.

"Ok. Do you know when you'll be free?" Daphne asked, pulling her planner out of her bag, ready to pencil in Theo whenever he was available.

"I don't know if I'm a strong enough legilimens to teach you occlumency. Although I'm very good at occlumency, I think you would do better to learn it from the person who taught me," Theo confessed.

Daphne's eyebrows furrowed. She didn't know who taught Theo occlumency and legilimency. She supposed that she figured that he was self-taught. However, from the sound of it, it was impossible to be so.

"Draco. He taught me during 7th year. It made things… not better, but easier. Definitely easier than what it could've been if I hadn't had proper control over my thoughts."

Theo rarely talked about 7th year. None of the Slytherins did. Although all of the other houses saw Slytherins as this evil group of students that relished in torture and pain, it couldn't be farther from the truth. The Slytherins were just as much victims as everyone else; in some cases more so. Everyone, for the most part, just repressed the horrible memories and tried to pretend that it never happened.

Daphne nodded her head and thanked Theo for the tip. They promised each other to discuss the double-date plan at a later time to make sure that everyone's schedules were cohesive. He wished her luck on her trip up the Janus Thickey ward and then she was on her way back to work.

-x-

"You must be Miss Greengrass. I've been told that you'll be doing rounds with me today on the Thickey Ward," Healer Gupta greeted her. Daphne smiled at the older Healer and nodded her head. She held her hand out to him and he shook it firmly.

Healer Gupta had tanned skin and kind brown eyes. He smiled more than Healer Alvarez did, which, Daphne hoped meant that he was a bit nicer. Although Alvarez was extremely intelligent, she was a bit prickly around the edges. Daphne was happy to have a break away from the woman, and with Healer Gupta no less.

"Have you ever been up to the Thickey Ward before?" Gupta asked her. She shook her head in negation.

"But I have done research on some of the patients. I've also read over a few files of past patients for a research project that Alvarez was working on."

Healer Gupta smiled at her. "There's a difference between seeing a Stonephant in a zoo and petting one. Are you sure that you're prepared for this?"

Daphne nodded her head firmly. She was sure of it. She had passed her Psychology exams with flying colors earlier in the year. She had dealt with the Children's ward with very few problems and had even gained positive praise for her calming demeanor. She figured that it couldn't be much more difficult than calming screaming 3-year-olds.

Gupta continued to smile and lead her to the Thickey Ward. They spent 10 minutes trying to get in, thanks to the security wards and anti-intruder charms. After they were in, Gupta put her to work immediately.

She followed behind him from room to room, but every time there was a new patient to meet, he would make her ask the nurse the proper questions as well as administer the more concentrated potions.

She recognized her 2nd year Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and shuddered. He had a smile on his face that never faltered. Not even when they were forcing potions down his throat did his smile erase. It was as if his face was frozen that way.

"Gilderoy Lockhart," Gupta commented, as they left his room.

"I know," Daphne replied. "He used to be my teacher." Daphne wanted to comment on his incompetence, but felt that it would be bad form to make snide remarks about a man who had nothing left.

The things that Daphne studied about patients with spell damage that had altered the mind didn't do her much justice. The blank stares, the random tantrums and the cloud of confused despair left a bad taste in Daphne's mouth. She was definitely out of her comfort zone, but she didn't want Gupta to know how out of her element she was.

A patient had pulled her hair while she was checking his vitals to ensure that the potion that she had just administered was taking effect. He spat in her face and called her a "mudblood whore" before his face took on an emotionless stare. The nurses restrained him, but at that point it wasn't necessary. He was as motionless as a log, and from the look on his face, his thoughts were that of a log as well.

Even after that, Daphne tried to maintain her cool. It shook her to her core, but she couldn't let on that it had. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, and she'd be damned if she mucked it up by breaking down into tears.

The last room that they visited had a man and woman occupying it. The woman had bandages on her arms and was huddled in one of the far corners in the room. The man sat on a bed and just stared at the wall.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom. How are you both doing today?" Gupta asked them both to which neither of them replied. Mrs. Longbottom only continued to huddle in the corner while Mr. Longbottom only stared at the wall in front of him.

"This is the product of an extended cruciatus curse," Gupta explained. "It muddles with your brain. As you know, the cruciatus curse doesn't cause any physical damage; it only makes one think that there is physical damage being done to them. That kind of prolonged tampering with the brain will leave irreversible damage to it."

Daphne took out her notes and began to write down everything that Gupta said. When he started getting into medical terms and jargon, she made sure to underline the words so that she may be able to properly research them later.

As she was writing, Daphne heard the door open and close. She glanced up from her notes to see that a man in Auror robes had walked in. He was tall with dirty blonde hair and had a somewhat familiar face. From the look of him, Daphne guessed that he was around the same age as her. So, perhaps they had gone to school together? He definitely wasn't in Slytherin, but maybe they had a few classes together?

He was carrying a few parcels in his arms and looked to be struggling with holding them.

"Here, let me help you with that-," Daphne offered, still trying to place a name to the face. It wasn't until he dropped all of the parcels in his arms before Daphne could reach him that the name popped up in her head.

"Neville!" she nearly shouted, her eureka moment hitting her like the Hogwarts Express. Of course it was Neville. How many Longbottoms were left in the family tree? How many Longbottoms were around her age? It shouldn't have taken her so long to place the name, but in her defense, Neville Longbottom didn't look quite like he did while they were in school. He had gotten… fit.

Neville Longbottom looked a bit confused for a moment. "Um, hello?" he said, although it was more of a question than an actual greeting.

Daphne helped him pick up the parcels off of the ground while Healer Gupta explained that she was a Healer-in-Training and was training in the Janus Thickey Ward.

"I hope they haven't been giving you any trouble," Neville said politely.

Healer Gupta shook his head."We haven't been in here much longer than you have," he explained. "We haven't gotten to running the ordinary tests, but we'll get right to it and get out of your hair."

Daphne wasn't sure if it was because of Neville's presence or because she was unnecessarily worried, but the Longbottoms didn't pose any issues during the diagnostic charms and potion distribution. Mr. Longbottom didn't move at all during the entire ordeal, but Mrs. Longbottom was a bit of a wild card. Daphne worried that Mrs. Longbottom might run away and they'd have to subdue her or that she would retaliate and they'd have to call in for backup. But, Mrs. Longbottom kept her eyes on Neville the entire time and remained calm.

When they were finished with the Longbottoms, they left the room, leaving Neville alone with his parents. This wasn't the typical protocol. There was supposed to be a nurse or a secure medical professional in the room with the patients with them the entire time a visitor was there.

"Should one of us stay until medical personnel can get here?" Daphne questioned.

Healer Gupta chuckled and shook his head. "Neville is a special case. We won't have to worry about him. He'll be fine."

Daphne supposed that that was true. They _were_ his parents after all. Even if they were medically insane and incapable of caring for themselves (or a son for that matter) there had to be something subconsciously telling them that he was family. They surely wouldn't harm him and he wouldn't harm them either. Although Daphne knew that that wasn't technically the case; that a person without proper control over their minds and bodies might not be able to differentiate between family and stranger and would cause damage to any and everybody, she got the feeling that Neville was indeed a special case.

"I wasn't aware that you two knew each other," Gupta said, trying to make conversation as they headed towards the File Room to put away all of the information that they had gathered that day.

"We went to school together," Daphne explained. They didn't _really_ know each other. They were in different houses. Not only that, but he was in Gryffindor and she was in Slytherin. It was nearly impossible to have anything other than a rivalry with anyone from Gryffindor before the Battle of Hogwarts.

During the unforgettable 7th year with the Carrow twins, while Daphne was busy trying to blend into the Hogwarts walls, avoiding attention at all costs, Neville was throwing himself in the fray, taking crucios for younger children and figuratively (and once literally) spitting in the Carrow's faces.

Neville was also a hero for Daphne when they shared potions classes under Professor Snape. Any time that Snape looked as if though he were about to scold Daphne for her incompetence, Neville would find some way to bugger up his potion in an extravagant way, and steal her Head of House's attention. She was sure that he didn't do it on purpose, but Daphne was glad for it anyway. Better him than her.

Daphne had no idea that Neville Longbottom was an Auror, but she supposed that she shouldn't be too surprised. He was, afterall, a war hero.

"You did good work today, Greengrass," Gupta said, complimenting her. Daphne nearly tripped over herself, she was in such shock. She hadn't heard that phrase very often and it took her off guard.

"Thank you, sir," she said, making sure not to stutter.

"I might just have to steal you away from Alvarez and have you under my service permanently," he said thoughtfully. Daphne's eyes widened. That could do wonders for Daphne's career. While Alvarez was an amazing Healer and a decent teacher (if she ever managed to spend time with you), Gupta was an award winning Healer. He was respected in many medical circles and had research papers floating around several continents.

"I-I wo-would be honoured, sir," Daphne stuttered, mentally cursing herself at how stupid she sounded.

Daphne was so giddy, that she didn't notice a tall blonde man staring at her as she walked out of St. Mungo's.

-x-

"That's great, Daphne!" Harry said, smiling at her, although it was obvious that he was exhausted. They sat together on Daphne's sofa, Daphne's legs in Harry's lap, Thai takeout in their hands.

"Wouldn't it be fantastic to have Alvarez and Gupta fighting over me? 'I should have Greengrass! I saw her first,' Alvarez would say and then Gupta would say 'Yes, but I can utilize her potential,'" Daphne said, mimicking their voices as best as she could.

Harry laughed, nearly choking on his food. "Well, then how would you pick?" he asked her.

"Duel to the death, obviously," said Daphne, shrugging her shoulders.

Harry laughed and shook his head. Daphne only smiled at him. She hadn't been able to spend much time with her boyfriend due to their busy schedules and she was happy to finally gets some alone time with him. His hair was a complete disaster, as always, and Daphne couldn't help but to run her hands through the unruly mess. He closed his eyes and hummed in pleasure. Daphne giggled but didn't stop.

"How was lunch today?" Harry asked, his eyes still closed and his body relaxing into the sofa. Daphne took a bite of her food with her left hand, so that her right could stay in Harry's hair, before she answered.

"Theo is getting married." Harry's eyes shot open and quickly sought out Daphne's.

"What?" he asked, not sure that he had heard her correctly.

"Hmm-mm. And do you know to whom he is getting married?" Daphne asked him, knowing that he already had a pretty good idea.

"I may be able to guess," Harry sighed.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Daphne asked him.

"Probably not," Harry said honestly. Daphne felt a pang of hurt in her chest and her hand stilled in Harry's hair.

"I figured that if he wanted you to know, that he would've told you. Besides, it's not like he confided in me. He was under veritaserum when I found out about his relationship with Luna. He really didn't want anyone to know about it," Harry said. Daphne pulled her hand away from him and Harry had a small frown on his face.

"I don't like not knowing things," she pouted.

Harry sighed. "Things get tricky when it comes to work. I'm not supposed to tell you _anything_ that goes on in the DMLE. I bend the rule when I think that safety is at risk, but this wasn't one of those times."

"He told me at the same time that he told Blaise. _Blaise_! I should've known about it before fucking Blaise," she grumbled. Harry laughed but stopped once he saw Daphne's glare.

"Well, at least you know that she's not a part of my harem," Harry teased. Daphne threw a throw pillow at him that he was too tired to dodge.

"Would you want to do a double date?" Daphne asked him, after Harry had straightened his glasses that had become askew from the throw pillow.

"Sure. I wouldn't mind. I haven't seen Luna in quite some time. We have some important harem things to discuss." Daphne threw another throw pillow, but this time Harry was prepared and caught it.

"Better be careful, Potter. I'm running out of throw pillows. I'll have to start throwing vases soon," Daphne warned, her eyes on a particular vase that sat on the end table next to her. Harry laughed before stuffing his face with food.

"So, anything exciting happen at work today? Anything that you can tell me?" Daphne asked.

Harry shook his head before swallowing. "I was given a lot of busy work today. Nothing exciting at all. It was almost as if they didn't want me in the office at all today."

"Maybe that's a good thing. You've been working quite hard on the Death Eater cases. Maybe they're giving you a bit of a break before you run yourself ragged," Daphne suggested. Harry shrugged, but she could tell that he didn't completely agree with her.

"Daphne?" Harry asked. Daphne watched him, waiting for him to continue.

"Do you think that you could massage my scalp again? That felt _really_ good."

Daphne rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop herself from smiling. She vanished their empty bowls to the kitchen with a wave of her wand.

"Come over here, you big baby," Daphne said, feigning annoyance. Harry smiled and tried to make himself comfortable laying half on Daphne and half on the room between Daphne and the back of the sofa.

Daphne tried not to blush at the fact that Harry's head was on her chest. Harry didn't seem bothered by their proximity, so why should she?

After a while, she could tell that Harry had dozed off. He was snoring softly and had snuggled up closer to her. Daphne wondered when she had become so comfortable with someone else? Where Harry was concerned, it seemed as if personal space was just a suggestion. She didn't mind having Harry touching her and holding her. It made her feel safe. It made her feel comfortable.

Her neck started to bother her, so she adjusted the single throw pillow by her so that it was between her head and the arm of the sofa. It was a rather uncomfortable position, but Harry had been so tired lately. She didn't want to wake him. What if he couldn't get back to sleep? Or worse, what if he left and she didn't see him for days? She'd rather try to find some comfort in Harry's embrace to deal with the discomfort of the sofa.

With her hand mindlessly massaging Harry's head, Daphne was able to go over everything that had happened to her that day. Quite a bit had gone on. She felt like the day would never end, and now she hoped that it never did.

Thomas Clames and his greasy eyes on her had made her feel gross. He made her feel as if she had spent the entire day gardening, her fingernails filled with dirt and sweat making her clothes cling uncomfortably to her body. Yes, Thomas Clames made her feel as if though she had spent the day gardening, without the satisfaction of having done something productive.

Lunch with Blaise and Theo was eventful. Theo was getting married to someone for love; to Daphne's knowledge, a Nott had never been married without the use of a binding betrothal contract between houses. Much like the Malfoys and the Greengrasses, marriage was usually an act of monetary gain and political ties for the Notts. Daphne was happy that Theo was going against tradition and doing something that made him happy. She promised herself that she would do her very best to get along with Luna. From all that she had heard about the woman, and the little interaction that Daphne had with her, she assumed that a relationship with her wouldn't be very difficult to cultivate.

Working with Healer Gupta was an amazing experience for her. She soaked up everything that the man had said like a sponge. She hung onto his every word and followed him diligently. She wanted nothing more than to be on his service permanently. But, she knew that Alvarez would feel slighted at the exchange. As much as Daphne joked about it, she really didn't want to cause any drama at St. Mungo's. She just wanted to get her certification so that she may be able to do something good for a change.

The Janus Thickey ward was an eye-opening experience. It took a very mentally and emotionally strong witch or wizard to maintain the patients in the ward. She couldn't help but wonder how many amazing Healers passed up the opportunity to work in the ward because they deemed the patients too difficult. How many times had the Janus Thickey ward been passed up for donations for something else that wasn't as confusing or mysterious?

Daphne couldn't help but think of her own bias. When the man had spit in her face and called her a 'mudblood whore', two things that Daphne definitely shouldn't be labeled, she was ready to pack her materials and march back to Alvarez with arms wide open and ready to handle paperwork. But, when she saw the Longbottoms and the adoration that Neville had for them…

Daphne was dozing off. She had had a long day and she deserved a few moments of rest. She'd wake up and shower the day off later, but for now she wanted nothing more than to sink into the uncomfortable sofa with Harry and forget the day.

The last thought she had before giving into unconsciousness was that Neville's hair and height looked quite a bit like the man's at the coffee shop.

 **Boom! I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I'll try not to let this happen.**

 **I used Neville's description from the book. I know that Matthew Lewis, that near perfect human being, is not blonde. But in the book, Neville is described as blonde, so I just went with that.**

 **What did you think of the chapter? What was your favorite part? What do you think Clames is up to? Is Alvarez going to put up a fight for Daphne? Was Neville the man at the coffee shop? How do you think the double date with Luna will go? What about the legilimens lessons with Draco?**

 **Leave a REVIEW and let me know what you think! I love to read them and they make me super happy. That's like being happy, but with a red cape on it. When I get flooded with reviews, and usually tend to update faster because I'm so excited for more. It's a bit of an addiction, really. I also try to reply to all of the reviews that I get. So, you should like, I don't know, review or something?**

 **A special thank you to those who have followed and favorited NQSB. As I type this, NQSB has 558 follows and 327 favorites. Thank you so much, guys!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello, All! I hope you're having an awesome week!**

 **I must warn you, there is a bit of a limey flavor going on in this chapter. You have been warned. This is my first time writing something like this, so I hope you bear that in mind as you cringe and gag at my poor attempt. Hahaha**

 **Also, thank you for the condolences. I really appreciate it. My grandmother was a force to be reckoned with and she will be missed, terribly.**

 **On another note, did anyone see the teaser trailer for Beauty and the Beast? My mother got really pissed with me because I didn't tell her about it (we're all very big Disney fans). And my sister says, "It's starring Emma Watson, mom. You wouldn't know her because she's Hermione Granger and you're not cool enough." Fiendfyre wouldn't have burned my mom as bad as my sister did.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I do, however, own a scooter that I'm pretending doesn't make odd noises whenever I drive it.**

 **I'd like to give a special shout out to those who have taken the time out to review this story. As we all know, stories with more reviews get a bit more traffic. So, thank you:**

 **Kagemaru Raiden, harryislife, Xavras, FierceDietyLinkMask, sachaelle, Dragul, Vi38, J, silvershadowseeker, mwinter1, fuzzy6, Area808code, hellfire45, KrulciferAkitsukii, BurningDay, GaurdianDevil, SoapOpera, ErikaNeubert, Cateagle, Sk8ernv, trispectrum, feydran, GraphiicChaos, and Wewee**

Daphne wanted to take things slowly and Harry was fine with that. He didn't want to pressure her into anything that she might regret. He respected the fact that she wanted to wait. So, it was rather confusing to Harry why she continued to put him in situations where he might forget that she wanted to take her time.

They were on the sofa in Daphne's apartment, which looked more comfortable than it actually was. He was lying on top of her, between her legs, his head resting on her breasts. Her hand was running through his hair and it was difficult for him to continue to bite back his groans of pleasure.

"I should go," he said, trying to get out of Daphne's grasp. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that he shouldn't continue to lie in such a compromising position. Harry prided himself on having amazing self-control. He wasn't some animal that relied on their baser instincts. So, to avoid any awkwardness or lapse in judgement, he thought it best to just leave.

Daphne had other plans. Her arms and legs tightened around Harry, preventing him from moving an inch. For someone who had never been subjected to physical activity, Daphne was a lot stronger than she looked.

Harry looked up at Daphne and saw a cute pout on her face. Her eyes were pleading and Harry's throat became very dry.

"Can't you stay for a while longer?" she nearly purred.

"I really shouldn't," Harry told her. "I have to be up early in the morning. I have to go for my morning run and then I have to help Ron with his paperwork once I get into the Auror's office and then-,"

"It sounds like you're looking for excuses to leave me," interrupted Daphne, her eyebrows knitting together.

'Yes' Harry thought to himself. That was exactly what he was doing. But he was doing it for her. He was doing the right thing, wasn't he?

"No, I just have to get home. I have so much stuff to do. I wouldn't want to get behind," Harry said, speaking half-truths. He did have quite a bit of stuff that he could be doing at his own place, but he certainly didn't have any plans to do them anytime soon.

"Fine. Can I have a kiss before you go?" Daphne asked, her voice resigned. Of course she could have a kiss. Harry hoped that she hadn't expected for him to go home without kissing her. It was one of his favorite things as of late.

Daphne finally loosened her hold on him and Harry was able to move. He hovered over her, missing the heat that her body gave him when he was directly on top of her. He leaned down to press his lips to hers and felt the heat that he had lost surge back into his body. Kissing Daphne was exhilarating and comforting. It was like playing Quidditch and eating treacle tarts.

His lips continued to move over hers and her hand continued to play in his hair. The taste of Daphne's lips and what she was doing to his scalp was making a weird concoction of lust in his body. To prevent himself from being embarrassed, Harry tried to move away again. Daphne, once again, had other plans.

She deepened the kiss, her tongue plunging into his mouth. Harry groaned and he could feel Daphne smile into the kiss. She was killing him and she knew it.

'A few minutes more wouldn't be too bad, right?' Harry reasoned. He kissed her back with as much passion as she was kissing him with. With every second that passed, Harry could feel the stress from the past few weeks disappearing. He could also feel his self control ebbing away, but he didn't want to focus on that at the moment.

Harry started to unconsciously ground himself onto Daphne. Once he realized what he was doing, he stilled. He wasn't sure how Daphne would handle having his blatant erection pushed onto her. She moaned loudly and Harry felt his self control crack and shatter.

Daphne tugged on Harry's shirt and he quickly pulled it off, his glasses getting lost in the quick undressing. Daphne's hands roamed over Harry's chest before she pulled him back to continue their snogging session. Harry wanted to rip Daphne's own shirt off of her, but he wasn't that out of control. He was going to let her set the pace for everything.

As if Daphne was reading his mind, she sat up and pulled her own shirt over her head. Before Harry had time to react, she unclasped her bra and threw it over her shoulder.

Harry never wished that he had his glasses on his face so badly. He could see Daphne's breasts, but he wanted to make sure he wasn't missing anything due to his poor eyesight. They were perfect for him. The perfect handful. And her nipples… he just wanted to…

Harry's mouth latched onto one of her rosy nipples, while his hand massaged her other breast. Daphne's moans became louder and her hand, which had found its way back to his hair, had tightened.

"Harry, that feels so good," she moaned. "It would feel so much better if you turned the page to 394."

Harry stilled. He wasn't sure that he had heard her correctly. He pulled away from her and slowly looked towards her face. Harry nearly screamed at the sight. He was looking into the face of his Potions and DADA professor. Greasy hair, hooked nose, and scowl made it very clear that he was no longer snogging Daphne Greengrass; he was snogging Snape.

Harry's eyes shot open, his breathing ragged and his forehead covered in sweat. His eyes darted around, trying to make sure that he was no longer in the presence of Severus Snape. He saw that he was still in Daphne's living room and that the early morning light was shining through the window. He looked down to see that he was still laying with Daphne on her uncomfortable sofa, his beautiful girlfriend still sound asleep.

He sighed in relief. Of course he would like to see Severus Snape again, but never like that. Ever.

He had spent the night at Daphne's place for the first time. His body ached and he had a slight headache, but he blamed the headache on the awful nightmare. That wasn't exactly how he expected his first night at Daphne's to go. He supposed that they had both fallen asleep on the sofa after dinner.

He checked his wristwatch to see that he had two hours before he had to be at work. He could go home, shower, and get things started for the day. Or, he could lay back down and cuddle Daphne for a bit longer. One of those choices seemed quite a bit more enticing than the other.

Before Harry could lay back down with Daphne, however, his girlfriend stirred. She slowly opened her eyes, confusion showing on her face as she focused on Harry.

"Goodmorning," Harry greeted her. She looked around the room for a moment and then clarity hit her.

"Goodmorning," she greeted, before covering her mouth to yawn. "I guess we were both really tired last night."

"Yeah, I guess," Harry said, stretching his arms above his head. He could hear bones pop and crack.

"What time is it?" Daphne asked.

"Nearly 6."

Daphne groaned. "Sleeping on this sofa was a bad idea."

"Agreed," said Harry. He knew that he was going to be sore all day. He hoped that he would loosen up before he was put to physical work at his job.

"Do you want me to cook you breakfast?" Harry asked her. Harry was by no means a chef. But, he could do breakfast easily enough.

"Are you offering to cook for me, Potter?" Daphne teased.

"You'd better jump on this opportunity while you have the chance, Greengrass," Harry told her, standing up and stretching again.

"I will leave you to breakfast then," Daphne said, following Harry's example and standing up and stretching. "I'm gross. I'm going to shower."

Harry smirked at her and opened his mouth to say something, but Daphne held up a finger to silence him.

"That most certainly was not an invitation, Harry," she teased. Harry closed his mouth slowly but continued to smirk at her. Daphne laughed and pressed her lips to his cheek.

"You spend one night with a guy and all of a sudden he's forgotten the importance of personal space," Daphne said jokingly rolling her eyes.

"No, this is perfect. This gives me the perfect opportunity to slip the amorentia in your eggs," Harry said thoughtfully. Harry nearly laughed at Daphne's expression, which was going back and forth between indignation and surprise.

"Is _that_ how you've gotten me to fall for you? With amorentia?" Daphne asked him.

"Well, how else would I expect to get you as my girlfriend?" Harry said rolling his eyes and walking towards the kitchen.

Daphne laughed and crossed her arms over her chest. "We both know that that's impossible. You can't brew a proper potion to save your life. You definitely wouldn't be able to brew amorentia." Before Harry could retort, Daphne was skipping off to her room.

Harry laughed. He most certainly could brew a decent potion. He just had to have a book with all of the proper technique in it to do so.

Daphne didn't have much food in her refrigerator. He could understand why, though. She rarely had enough time to cook after being at St. Mungo's all day. She preferred to go out and get a quick bite after work, much like he did. He wondered when Daphne had last had a home cooked meal. That thought made him more determined to make the best breakfast that he could with the ingredients that Daphne had to offer.

He was nearly done with making bacon and egg sandwiches when Daphne came padding out of her room, wearing her healer's robes and her hair slightly wet from the shower.

"Mmm. Bacon and egg sandwiches?" Daphne asked, pressing a kiss to Harry's cheek. Harry could smell the minty scent of toothpaste and he wondered if Daphne had always cleaned her teeth the muggle way. "Are you trying to spoil me, Potter?"

"Well, I did spend a few years in Paris learning under the best chefs in France, you know?" Harry teased, winking at her over his shoulder. Daphne rolled her eyes but laughed with him.

"Funnily enough, for some reason, I don't think that I believe you," Daphne said, sitting down at her small kitchen table. Harry finished up the sandwiches and brought them to the table. Daphne's smile brightened and she quickly took a bite of her sandwich.

Harry couldn't help but stare at her. Her long blonde hair that was still damp and flowing down her back, her blue eyes that sparkled with excitement when she was presented with bacon, her cute button nose that wrinkled in annoyance when she noticed that he was staring at her; Harry was falling hard.

Harry took a bite of his own sandwich and started mulling over his feelings. When he wasn't around Daphne, he wanted nothing more than to be around her. He missed her terribly. And when he was with her, he could forget all of the things going on around him. Well, that was a bit of a lie. But, she made the terrible things going on around him less terrible.

He knew that he felt strongly for her. He knew that he cared deeply for her, but was he in love with her? He had been in love once before, and that had ended badly. He didn't think that Daphne would betray him the way that Ginny did, but then, he didn't think that Ginny would betray him the way that she had. If he admitted to himself (and to her, for that matter), he would be putting himself in a position to get hurt again.

Did he trust Daphne not to hurt him? He wanted to. He felt like most of their arguments revolved around his trust issues. He wanted to trust Daphne with his feelings, but what if she was reckless with them? Could he handle it with everything else going on in the Auror's office?

"Harry?" Daphne asked. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Daphne. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she had a concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay? You look like you've been hit with a Confundus charm."

"I'm fine," he told her. Daphne still looked skeptical, but she didn't press the issue.

It was as if Harry had actually been hit with a Confundus charm and the effects were wearing off on him. His head was becoming clearer, the more he looked into Daphne's eyes. What was the point of being in a relationship with her if he never had any plans to move things along? Why would he hold back his feelings when it would hurt him for her to do the same? If he wasn't planning on things becoming serious with Daphne, then he should do the right thing and end things with her. The very thought had his stomach tying itself in knots and his chest aching.

If he was serious about her, and he was, Harry decided, then he should throw caution to the wind.

"I think that I might love you."

And he completely buggered that up. "Think." "Might." What was wrong with him?

Daphne, her mouth filled with a greasy bacon sandwich, did something that Harry was sure would have gotten her scolded by her posh pureblood mother. She opened her mouth in shock, the contents of it falling down onto her plate with a flop.

"W-what?" she asked, eyes as wide as bludgers.

"I love you," Harry said firmly, trying to erase the unsure way he had said the phrase earlier.

Daphne looked as if though she were at a complete loss of words. Her mouth kept opening and closing as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't. She looked very much like a fish. If Harry hadn't just laid his emotions bare for her to scoff at, he might've laughed at how she was taking the news.

"You don't have to say it back," Harry said quickly. He noticed that Daphne's face probably couldn't become any redder without needing to seek medical attention. Harry didn't say it because he wanted her to say it back. He said it because he felt it. Although, he would admit that the more Daphne reacted negatively, the more he regretted verbalizing his feelings. Maybe he should've kept that little realization to himself.

The silence continued on. Harry was sure that it was only a few seconds, but it felt like hours. Harry was becoming certain that he shouldn't have just blurted it out like that. Had they been dating long enough for him to even have these feelings? Had he been experiencing a different relationship than Daphne? Where he was completely happy and content had she been miserable and lonely? He did work quite a bit and his time at the DMLE had been increased lately. Could this all just be an after effect of his bizarre dream from the previous night?

Daphne slowly stood up and Harry worried that he had scared her away. He really was shite at relationships wasn't he? Maybe that's why things hadn't really worked out with…

Daphne walked around the small table to where Harry was sitting and sat down on his lap. Harry was thoroughly confused. From Daphne's reaction, he assumed that she wouldn't want to be anywhere near him. Daphne's reaction had started out as something comical which quickly turned into something worth worrying over. Now, however, Harry was completely lost. He wasn't the most emotionally aware man on the planet (far from it in fact) but he was sure that Daphne should be well on her way to getting as far away from him as possible.

"Umm," Harry started, unable to say anything more eloquent.

"You love me?" Daphne asked him, her voice small.

"I think-," Harry cleared his throat. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"Really?" she asked him, sounding hopeful but unsure.

Harry gave her a small smile. "Yes."

Harry could literally feel Daphne relax on his lap. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"Well, I suppose I love you back then," Daphne said quietly, as if it were a secret and the room was crowded with nosey onlookers.

Harry smiled brightly. He was happy that Daphne's face was currently buried in his neck. He was sure that he looked like a giant goof, but he couldn't help it! The girl that he loved, loved him back. He knew that his feelings for her wouldn't change if she didn't say it back to him; if she needed more time to feel the same way that he did, he couldn't be upset with her. But, damn, did it feel fucking fantastic.

"I don't think I've heard anyone tell me that they loved me in nearly a decade," Daphne said, sitting up so that Harry could see the face of the woman he had fallen head over heels for.

"Really?"

She shrugged. "I can't recall my parents ever saying it. I'm sure they must have, right? I mean, parents typically love their children. Doesn't mean that they have to say it, though. They could just as well show their love. Even though my parents weren't the best at that either."

Harry hadn't heard the words very often either. The Dursleys never showed that they loved Harry, much less said the words to him. It wasn't until Harry was walking the walls of Hogwarts that he even ever experienced the feeling the evasive emotion.

"My sister told me that she loved me once," Daphne said, as if just remembering something that was long forgotten. "She said it to me right before I got on the Hogwarts Express for my first year."

"Seems to me that you need to hear it more often," Harry commented.

Daphne smiled and nodded her head. "I suppose. Otherwise, I have a mini panic attack whenever someone tells me that they love me. Oh, Merlin, I'm so embarrassed. I can't believe I reacted that way." Daphne hid her face in her hands.

"Yeah, that was pretty weird," Harry said, finally feeling comfortable enough to laugh at Daphne's crazy reaction. "Your face got all red. You looked like a Blood Fish. I thought that I was going to have to take you to St. Mungo's."

Daphne sent a glare to Harry between her fingers which only spurred him on.

"I mean, I was thinking about using your eyes for a blood replenishing potion," he continued to tease.

Daphne laughed, taking her hands away from her face and using a finger to poke Harry in the chest.

"And that, Mr. Potter, is all the evidence that I need to prove my earlier statement. You use Blood Fish eyes for a blood cleansing potion. Not a blood replenishing potion. You, dolt!" Daphne sneered, her eyes alight with joy.

Harry rolled his eyes and then smirked at her. "Doesn't matter if I'm shite at potions or not. You love me anyway."

Daphne gasped and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I said that while still hoping that you weren't the worst potioneer in all of Wizarding Britain. Now, I'm not so sure of my feelings for you."

Harry scowled at her and Daphne smiled triumphantly. He knew that she was bluffing, but he still couldn't let her win. So, he did something that would secure a win for their little verbal sparring. He cheated. He started to viciously tickle her. Daphne tried to escape, but Harry's hold was too tight on her. She was just going to have to sit there and take the abuse until she conceded.

"You win," she shouted, quickly realizing that there was no other way out of the situation.

Harry was the one smiling triumphantly with Daphne scowling at him.

Harry sighed. He wanted to spend the whole day with Daphne. He wanted to sit in this chair with Daphne firmly in his lap and he didn't want to go to work or deal with anything that couldn't be fixed by sitting in this chair. He wanted to continue making fun of Daphne and he wanted to smell her apple shampoo anytime that she turned her head. But, he had responsibilities and so did Daphne. There was an entire world outside of Daphne's flat and it wouldn't stop just because he was hiding away in there.

"I really need to get home," Harry said quietly. Daphne pouted, but Harry knew that she understood. He needed to shower and get his notes for work.

Daphne got off of Harry's lap and Harry was able to stand up. He stretched again, his night spent on the sofa evident in his stiff joints.

"Maybe I should take your sofa with me to work today," said Harry.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, not following his train of thought. "Why?"

"Because, your sofa could be used as a means of extracting information. One night on this sofa and criminals would be spouting information for fear of having to spend another night on the blasted thing."

Daphne rolled her eyes but didn't argue with him. "You're not funny," she said, trying to hide her smile.

Harry kissed Daphne goodbye and it was different than any other kiss that they had shared. He always enjoyed kissing Daphne and he imagined that he always would, but there was something extra in that kiss. It felt secure. It was a kiss that promised to be shared many times. He wasn't sure what had changed between them, but he could feel it. He wondered if "love" had anything to do with it.

-x-

"H-Harry! What are you doing here so early?" Neville asked him, holding two cups of coffee in his hands. Harry had just arrived to work and, while he had been a bit early, he wasn't the first person in the office.

"I woke up early, so I figured that I could get started on some paperwork that I needed to finish up. It never seems to end, does it? What are you doing here so early?" Harry asked. While Neville was rarely ever late, he was rarely ever early either.

"S-same as you. P-paperwor-work," Neville stuttered out. Harry raised an eyebrow at him. Neville was a decent auror; he worked hard, was brave enough to throw himself into the fray, and smart enough to track down some pretty dangerous dark wizards. However, Neville had a fault (if one could call it that). He couldn't lie to his friends.

"Neville, is everything okay?" Harry asked him, digging for more information. Neville nodded quickly, nearly spilling some of his coffee. Something was definitely off with his fellow Gryffindor, and Harry was too curious to let it slip past him.

"Are you sure, Neville?" Harry asked, nearly seeing the cracks in Neville's resolve. Neville started to look much like the Blood Fish himself and Harry knew that he was close to blurting out whatever he had been hiding from him. Harry couldn't understand what Neville would need to lie about. They worked for the same department in the same office. What could possibly be so "top secret" that Harry wasn't allowed in on it?

His answer came quicker than he expected and Neville didn't have to say a word. Coming from the direction of one of the interrogation rooms was Head Auror Robards and Aurors Gabe and Montgomery with a young witch in magic restricting handcuffs. She looked very familiar and when their eyes locked, Harry could tell that she recognized him. Recognition quickly hit him and he nearly gasped.

"Potter, you're here early," Auror Robards commented, his eyes widening a fraction. Harry could see that Auror Gabe had a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

"Paperwork," Harry said, holding up his notes, his eyes still stuck on the younger sister of the woman he had just confessed his love for not even an hour earlier.

"You have a great work ethic, Potter. Keep it up," Robards said before turning his attention to the witch in handcuffs. "You're free to go Ms. Greengrass. Remember, we will be keeping in touch and you have a trace on you. Do refrain from leaving Britain." With that, Robards walked off to his office, the door closing behind him.

"What are you doing here, Longbottom. I thought Robards told you that you were off of the case," Gabe sneered. Neville's eyes narrowed at the older Auror and Harry now understood the reasoning behind Neville's stutter. He knew about Astoria being interrogated and hadn't told him. He was kept in the dark because he was dating Daphne. They didn't think that he could be impartial.

"I was only bringing Astor- Greengrass coffee. She was awful without it before, so I thought I'd-,"

"Excuse me! You'd be awful too if you were brought here in the middle of the night without any explanation. Now, if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like these handcuffs off of me," Astoria bristled, her voice sharp.

Auror Gabe glared at her and didn't move to remove the cuffs. "We should've had a gag put on you in addition to the cuffs, Greengrass."

"Wouldn't be very beneficial to you if I'm supposed to be answering your questions," Astoria snapped back at him.

Auror Montgomery laughed as Auror Gabe continued to glare at Astoria. "Well, she's got a point there, Gabe." Montgomery pulled out a key from her pocket and unlocked the handcuffs from Astoria's wrists. Astoria rubbed the spot where the handcuffs had been and glared back at Auror Gabe.

Gabe turned his attention to Neville and scoffed at the coffees in his hands. "I remember when the Auror Department was filled with decent, hard-working wizards. Not little boys who are just looking to get their dicks wet," he sneered.

Harry moved to grab Neville, making sure that the taller Auror didn't retaliate. Neville was typically a very gentle guy, but he had a bit of a temper sometimes. Harry was not in denial about the fact that the older man was making a jab at him as well, but he didn't care. He was still riding his good mood that Daphne had put him in. He wasn't going to be bothered with Gabe's petty remarks.

"Tell me, was that before or after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named took control of the Auror Department and was plucking on your strings like a puppeteer to a marionette?" Astoria said nonchalantly, brushing past an irate Gabe. "I, for one, am impressed with the new blood in the Auror Department. At least some of you know how to treat a wrongfully accused witch." She grabbed one of the coffees out of Neville's shocked hand.

They all stood there in shock as Astoria took a sip. She made a grimace before switching out the coffees. None of the older Aurors liked to be reminded of their time working under Voldemort. They liked to pretend that it never happened, but a lot of the Aurors diligently did as they were told.

"Listen here, you little bit-," Gabe started, waking himself out of his shock.

"C'mon Gabe, let's go grab a quick cup of coffee before the next round of interrogations," Montgomery said quickly, pulling on Gabe's arm and leading him out of the office.

"Thank you for the coffee, Neville," Astoria said before taking another sip. "It really takes the edge off. I'm glad you were able to find some decent coffee this time."

"You're welcome. Even though I had to search around a bit for it," he told her, his face turning pink.

Astoria's eyes moved from Neville's to Harry's and Harry felt very uncomfortable and how similar her eyes were to Daphne's.

"Hello, Harry Potter. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Astoria Greengrass. I believe you are currently shagging my older sister, Daphne," she said in a polite tone, her hand held out to his.

"Well, not currently," Harry said, still uncomfortable with talking to Astoria. He didn't know much about the witch because Daphne rarely talked about her. He did, however, know that Daphne had gone to great lengths to avoid her younger sister. From her greeting, he could understand why.

"I'm currently standing here and talking to you," Harry said, grabbing Astoria's hand and shaking it. A slow smile spread across Astoria's face and Harry couldn't help but wonder how the fuck his day had gone from blissful to complicated in one hour.

 **Chapter 17: securely in the bag, I believe. I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it!**

 **What do you think of Astoria? What do you think she's been up to? What did you think about Snape's appearance? What do you think about Harry and Daphne saying those three little words? (not Large Fries Please) What do you think Harry's going to do next?**

 **Please review! I love to read them and they make me smile more than a buy one get one deal of ice cream at the supermarket. Please make me smile!**

 **Also, I'd like to say thank you to those who have followed and favorited this story. As I type this NQSB has 595 followers and 347 favorites! If you add those two numbers together, you get a number higher than 7 and that's awesome!**

 **Stay tuned for the next chapter, guys!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello, All! I hope your week is going well! It's just got better though, because I'm updating! What?!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All I own is a scooter that has very itty bitty trunk space.**

 **Reminder that this story is un-beta'd and written by an American. My British lingo is whatever I've picked up watching Skins. And I apologize for that.**

 **For those who have been keeping up with my readings with my sister, we got to the part in Goblet of Fire where Dumbledore calmly asks… "HARRY, DID YUH PUT YA NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIYAH?" We spent a good five minutes laughing. Also, my sister went to Universal last Friday and got me a Sirius Black wand and a Slytherin cup. She even managed to get my loser boyfriend a Hufflepuff cup. She's such a sweetie.**

 **I'd like to take the time out to thank those that have taken the time out to leave a review. The majority of the readers don't, so I'd like to recognize those that do! Thank you to:**

 **mwinter1, FierceDietyLinkMask, DraacoClaye, silvershadowseeker, firetemplar415, Kagemaru Raiden, Vi38, Wewee, Andril, Ingriz, Dragul, Tyco Black, Daerwin45, Xarvas, feydran, and trispectrum. Thank you all so much!**

 ***trigger warning* There will be a physical and sexual assault at the end of this chapter. Fair warning. It won't be explicit. But, if this triggers you, I'd like for you to be forewarned. I'll leave an escape route for you!**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

"Neville, you should show me where you work," said Astoria, pulling on the tall man's arm, her light blue eyes dancing.

"I… I don't think… Don't you want to leave?" Neville stuttered out.

Harry couldn't wrap his head around what had just happened. Astoria was brought in for questioning. But, why? He could only think that it was involving the new Death Eater developments. But, why wasn't Daphne brought in for questioning? Maybe they hadn't brought her in yet. Maybe that's why they wanted to keep him in the dark about the whole Astoria situation.

Astoria crossed her arms over her chest, stomped her foot and glared at Neville. "I believe that I should be allowed to tour the place that had me wrongfully imprisoned."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her childish antics but Neville only laughed. "You were hardly imprisoned, Astoria," said Neville, through chuckles.

"Forced to take Veritaserum, being subjected to legilimency and all without a decent cup of espresso. I might as well have been in Azkaban," she purred. Harry assumed that she had never really been to Azkaban. The dementors were gone, but it was still no stroll in the park.

"Okay, fine. But I'm only showing you where I work. I'm not going to give you a tour of the place. And then you can leave," Neville grumbled out, unsure of his own decision. Another one of those slow smiles that made Harry uncomfortable spread across Astoria's face and Neville blushed.

"But, Neville, I thought that we were having such a good time together," she simpered, allowing Neville to lead her towards his desk. Neville said something back to Astoria, but Harry couldn't hear him. All he heard was Astoria's laugh, which sounded like bells.

He had never met Astoria before this. And, he knew that Astoria and Daphne were sisters, but he couldn't help but notice the differences between the two. There was the physical aspects; Daphne being blonde and Astoria being brunette. But there was also the personality traits. From what Harry had seen of Astoria, she seemed rather immature and childish. And he might have been a bit biased because he had just confessed his love to her, but Daphne seemed more put together and down to Earth. Harry wasn't sure, but there was something about Astoria that rubbed him the wrong way.

"Potter!" he heard Head Auror shout from his office. Harry was currently standing in front of the man's office, but he figured that if he was sitting at his own desk, he'd still be able to hear the Head Auror's booming voice.

Harry took a deep breath and walked into the man's office. He wasn't sure what this was about, but he had a good idea where this conversation was going to end up.

Harry stood in front of the man's desk as he signed away at different parchments. He patiently waited for the man to notice his presence. It gave him time to decide what he would say to his boss. 'Didn't think that I could be objective? Thought you'd send me on petty missions, did you?'

"POT-oh. You're already here. I didn't even notice. Why didn't you speak up, boy?" Auror Robards asked. Harry was glad that Robards noticed his presence before he started to yell again.

"I wanted to talk to you about a mission that I think you'll be perfect for, Potter. Please, take a seat," Robards said, waving his hand towards the single chair on the opposite side of his desk. Harry slowly sat down. Harry hoped that it wasn't going to be something ridiculous like finding Mr. Kingkar's Remembrall again. That was the worst 3 hours of Harry's previous week.

"I know that you must be a bit confused about Astoria Greengrass' presence at the office today. Well, let me explain. You see, we have been made to believe, due to several leads, that Astoria's father might be involved in some of the attacks on Muggles in London as well as the imprisonment of young Mr. Scamander. We were unable to get him, unfortunately. It seems as if he's fled to the continent on a business venture. However, we were able to bring his youngest daughter in for questioning." Robards handed Harry a large roll of parchment and Harry quickly scanned it as Robards continued on.

"She gave quite a bit of information, but it's still not enough to get the proper documents from Kingsley and the Wizengamot to seek him out on the continent. From the records obtained at Gringotts, we have reason to believe that he donated to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named during both of his revolts."

"But, shouldn't that be enough?" Harry asked. "If he was shelling out galleons to support Voldemort, then shouldn't-,"

"It's enough for Kingsley, but not for the Wizengamot. They're blocking us at every turn and Kingsley is trying his best to "keep the peace". So, that's why we're staying in London with our cocks in our hands," Robards explained.

"Metaphorically," Harry supplied without thinking.

"Metaphorically. Yes, of course," Robards said, laughing.

Harry sighed and ran his hands through his disheveled hair. His day had started out spectacularly and it was turning into dragon dung before his very eyes.

"What do you need me to do?" Harry asked. Robards' smile vanished from his face and he took on a seriously intense expression.

"What I'm going to ask of you, Potter, is top secret. No one is to know."

Harry nodded, but gulped. Harry got the feeling that 'don't tell your girlfriend about this' was the underlying theme of his statement.

"I want you to use Legilimency on your girlfriend to see if she knows anything about her father's involvement and his current whereabouts," Robards said emotionlessly.

"But, she's already told me that she-," Robards shook his head slowly, and stopped Harry's explanation. Whatever Daphne told Harry, Robards wasn't going to believe. He'd need the usage of Veritaserum or Legilimency. He had no reason to believe Daphne.

"You're one of our best rookie Aurors, Potter. I'm putting a lot of trust in you, in asking you to do this," Robards said, his expression softening.

"But, isn't this illegal? Me using legilimency on someone without their knowledge or consent and using what I find for legal purposes?" Harry asked.

Robards laughed. "It's more of a grey area, really. But, to quote a wise wizard who used the practice of legilimency on minors quite frequently without their knowledge, "it's for the greater good"."

Harry grimaced. He wasn't comfortable with this at all. If he did this and Daphne found out about it, then she'd never be able to trust him again. She wouldn't be able to forgive him for using her mind like an open book and skimming through it. It could mean the end of their relationship.

He couldn't do it. He wouldn't. The thought of creeping into his girlfriend's head didn't sit well with him. It made him feel oily and dirty. As he came to the realization that there was no way in Hell that he'd be able to use legilimency on Daphne, Auror Robards spoke up again.

"I know how hard you've worked to be an Auror, Harry. I want you to know that you doing this for us, for all of Wizarding Britain, could do wonders for your career." Harry shook his head. He had already saved Wizarding Britain once before. Couldn't they find a different fucking hero? He mentally cursed his career choice. He should've just become a kneazle breeder.

"Potter, I want you to know that with your cooperation, this can go a lot more smoothly. Otherwise, I'll have to submit a warrant for Daphne Greengrass' arrest," Robards said smoothly, though he was visibly uncomfortable.

"Arrest? On what grounds?" Harry spat out.

"On the grounds of suspicious activity with regard to extreme Dark Arts and accessory to kidnapping," retorted Robards. Harry felt absolutely sick. He respected Auror Robards. He thought that he was an understanding and cooperative boss. He was tough as nails, but he'd actually listen to the Aurors in the department. But this… this was the characteristics of a completely different man.

"Also, there's the bit about her destroying the personal property of a freelance reporter," Robards muttered, as if it was an afterthought. Harry could feel his face heating up in anger. Was Robards going to use _EVERYTHING_ that Daphne had done to get her into the interrogation rooms?

He had joined the Aurors to combat dark magic and dark wizards and witches who abused it. He didn't sign up to be a part of… whatever the fuck was happening here. But, was his decision to not use legilimency on Daphne obstructing his ability to combat against dark wizards? What if using legilimency on Daphne gave an amazing breakthrough? Just what the DMLE needed?

He'd be devastated. Daphne would've lied to him, or at the very least hidden something from him. He'd be heartbroken… again.

"I need an answer, Potter," Robards said softly. Harry glared at his superior. It wasn't fair that his voice was so soft when every word the man spoke felt like acid. His answer could mean the end of his relationship or the end of his possible career. Harry felt like he was allowed a bit more time to decide what to do.

"Either way, Daphne Greengrass will be interrogated. I just thought that maybe you'd be a bit more comfortable doing it within the walls of your home. I know that dragging her down here could cause quite the stir," Robards said, turning his attention to a roll of parchment in front of him. Harry gulped. He was right. Wasn't it better to just get it over and done with at home without the circus of the media surrounding them? Besides, Daphne didn't know Occlumency and he _had_ become pretty decent at legilimency. Maybe he could slip into her mind and slip out again without being detected?

"I'll do it," Harry said, quietly. The words felt like ash in his mouth, but he refused to take the words back. This was for the greater good, afterall. He was doing the right thing, wasn't he?

Robards looked up from his parchment and smiled brightly at Harry, seeming to relax. He lit the parchment that he had been writing on, on fire with a swish of his wand and clapped his hands together. The man had been writing his girlfriend's warrant in front of him and Harry hadn't even noticed!

"Well done, Potter! I'm glad that you've made the correct decision!" the Head Auror said, standing up and reaching his hand out to Harry. Harry stood up, but suddenly felt very small, although his height hadn't changed. He grabbed Robards outstretched hand and shook it once.

"I'll need the information that Daphne provides sooner rather than later, Potter. Remember, this is between you and I. No one is to know what has happened here today." Harry nodded slowly, only half listening to the older man.

"Why don't you dedicate today to preparing for your mission? You won't have to be here for that. Take the time decide how you're going to do this while being outside of these grey walls, eh Potter?" Robards said jovially. Normally, Harry would've refused the offer. He would've insisted that he stay in the office and get some work done, so he didn't fall behind. Or, at the very least, be sent on petty missions so he would at least have some semblance of purpose. But, Harry only nodded his head slowly again.

"Have a nice day, Potter!" Robards said, dismissing Harry from his office. Harry nodded his head again and left the Head Auror's office, feeling a lot like he had when leaving Umbridge's detentions.

Harry dragged himself towards the exit. Harry would laugh if he wasn't so conflicted about the decision he had just made. An hour before his meeting with Robards, he would've jumped for joy at the opportunity of getting back to Daphne and perhaps even convincing her to stay home and skive off on her classes. How the tides had changed.

"Hey, Harry! Woah, you look like shite."

"Thanks, Ron," Harry said, his voice emotionless and scratchy. Harry made no move to stop walking, so Ron grabbed his best friend by the shoulder.

"Slow down there. You okay?" Ron asked. Harry could see concern covering his best mate's face and he felt even more like shit. He had barely spoken to Ron lately. They worked in the same place, but he rarely ever saw the redhead. Who else had he been neglecting lately, he wondered. When did everything change?

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry lied. "Just really tired."

"You wanna get a drink after work?" Ron offered. Harry shook his head without thinking. He didn't even want to think about going to a pub anytime soon.

"Well, at least come to Sunday dinner at the Burrow. Mum's missed you," Ron offered. Harry thought about it. He did miss the Weasley's. Things had fallen apart after his breakup with Ginny. They assured him that they were still family; that despite Ginny's indiscretion, they still considered him a son and a brother. But, he wasn't too sure about that.

"That sounds… I'm not…," Harry fumbled, trying to find the words to let Ron down easily.

"Nope. Not taking 'no' for an answer. I'm gonna let Mum know that you'll be by on Sunday. You won't have to stay long. Just stop in and say hello if that's all you want. But, for Merlin's sake, I'm worried about you, mate. We all are."

Harry gave his best friend a small smile. Had he really been that bad off? Maybe he could just stay for a few seconds. Have a treacle tart or two and just skip out? That'd be good, right?

"Okay. Yeah, I'll be there," Harry said, sure of himself. Ron smiled brightly at him and Harry tried to reciprocate, but it fell flat. Harry started walking towards the door again and Ron walked towards his own desk.

Harry didn't feel like apparating home. He didn't feel like going home at all. He just walked around for a bit, trying to clear his head. It worked, for a while, until the vultures that call themselves "reporters" showed up to ask him 'how was life being the chosen one?' and 'do you think that Neville is willing to share his weight loss regimen?'

He made a quick escape into Muggle London and continued to walk aimlessly around, but his clarity was completely gone. His mind was muddled once again, with thoughts of Daphne, thoughts of Ron, and thoughts of Neville eating nothing but carrots.

Like a clap of thunder, Harry realized that he _had_ been neglecting someone recently. One of the most important people in his life. Guilt filled his lungs and he found it hard to breathe. How far into his own head had he really been? He dashed into an obscure alleyway and quickly apparated, trying to rectify his mistake as fast as possible.

-x-

"Harry! I didn't expect to see you today. Did I not get your owl post?" Andromeda Tonks greeted. Harry was standing on her front door step, his head drenched from the summer showers.

"I… I didn't send an owl. I just… I hadn't really… Is Teddy awake?" Harry stuttered. Andromeda gave him a soft smile and opened the door wider, letting Harry come through. Harry did a quick drying charm so he wouldn't mess up Andromeda's floor with the rain that clinged to his clothes and followed Andromeda to Teddy's room. He was sitting on the floor, playing with toy dragons and a racecar.

Teddy looked up and smiled brightly at Harry. Harry was finally able to reciprocate a bright smile since the debacle at the DMLE. Teddy's eyes turned bright green to match his own. Harry reached down and picked Teddy up in his arms and the little boy's bright blue hair turned into an exact replica of the dark mess that Harry was cursed with.

"He's missed you," Andromeda said from the doorway. Harry wanted to hang his head in shame. Teddy was his godson and he hadn't been as present in his life as he should've been.

"I've been a really shi… cra… poor godfather," Harry finally said, trying to keep his words G-rated around the impressionable two-year-old.

"I can understand. You're young. You're living life. It's difficult to juggle a career, a baby, and a social life," Andromeda said, sounding sincere. Although he knew that Andromeda didn't blame him for his absence, Harry couldn't really forgive himself for it. He had been so busy at work… and when he wasn't being tied down at the DMLE he was spending time with Daphne. Teddy hadn't even met Daphne yet!

Of course Daphne knew about the young metamorphmagus. He had made sure to tell Daphne about the young boy when things started to progress from awkward dates to openly poking fun at one another without being offended. The two had just never met one another before. He wasn't sure how Daphne would handle it. She seemed so nervous about the children's ward at St. Mungo's. What if she didn't like him? Harry scoffed at himself. That was impossible. Teddy was perfect.

"I'll leave you two to your games," Andromeda said, before turning away and walking down the hall. Teddy was only too excited to show Harry all of the toy dragons that he had accumulated. It seemed to Harry that he was trying to explain the differences between the dragons, but it all came out as gurgled baby speech. Harry could catch a few words here and there. But, for the most part, Harry was just happy to let Teddy say whatever he wanted, however he wanted. He had a lot of making up to do to him.

Harry played with Teddy for a few hours. Teddy was so excited to see Harry that he couldn't stop himself from jumping around his room and making a mess of things. Harry was too happy to stop the young boy himself. After a while, Harry could tell that Teddy was getting tired. He tucked him in for a nap and read him a short story. He nearly grabbed the Tales of Beedle the Bard, but shuddered and grabbed a story about dragons and how to train them. Before long, Teddy was sound asleep.

Harry promised Andromeda that he would visit more often. Harry asked Andromeda if it would be okay for him to take Teddy to the Weasley's for Sunday dinner and she accepted. "I know Molly must miss the both of you," she said softly. Harry gave her a small smile before using the floo to get back to his flat.

 ***escape route***

-x-

The next day, Harry was determined to see Daphne. He told himself that he'd use legilimency on her and be done with it. But, to be honest, he just wanted to see her. He wanted to look into her bright blue eyes and run his fingers through her blonde hair. He wanted to be in her calming presence because "calm" was something that he had become vastly unfamiliar with recently.

However, he felt too guilty. He knew that what he was about to do was wrong. He knew that it was an invasion of privacy and the thought of it made his stomach tie in knots.

He spent most of yesterday and the morning debating with himself over the issue. He figured that if he got it over and done with, it would be better than putting it off until later when he inevitably lost his nerve.

Daphne sent an owl to Harry the night before asking to see him, but Harry spent so much time worrying that Daphne would be able to tell that something was wrong with him that he decided not to take her up on the offer. He knew that she probably wasn't very happy about being momentarily rejected, but he hoped to make it up to her. If she would let him. If they were together long enough for him to do so.

Harry decided to surprise Daphne at her flat. It was Saturday, so he knew that she wouldn't be at work. She usually spent her Saturdays in her flat, studying, with a face filled with veggie pizza. Harry remembered telling her that the vegetables on the pizza weren't going to combat the grease and fat of the cheese and bread that they were placed on. Daphne had rolled her eyes and proceeded to stuff half of a slice in her mouth.

He stopped at her favorite pizza place, picked up the veggie pizza, and walked around the back of the pizzeria so he could quietly apparate out of the sight of muggles. He apparated to the alley behind Daphne's flat, pizza still in hand, and made his way up to her place.

He knocked on her door but there was no response. He thought that that was weird. Maybe she had gone out? He knocked again and heard muffled voices.

"Daphne?" he asked. There was no response, but he could hear people talking. They were talking rather loudly, but Harry couldn't tell what they were saying.

Harry's Auror instincts were kicking in. He could sense two magical signatures in the apartment and one was significantly stronger than the other and the other was being depleted rather quickly.

Harry started working without thinking. He used his wand to removed the wards on Daphne's flat. Luckily, these wards weren't blood wards or he wouldn't have been able to bring them down in enough time. When the wards were weak enough to break, Harry unlocked the door using his wand and rushed into the apartment.

He could hear Daphne screaming from her bedroom and Harry sprinted towards it. He slammed the door open and saw Daphne kicking a man that was lying on the floor. The man was in fetal position, his arms covering his face. From what Harry could see of it, it was covered in blood. He couldn't identify the man from all of the damage.

Harry quickly grabbed Daphne around her torso and moved her away from the heavily injured man. Daphne tried to escape his grasp to get to the man on the floor again, but Harry's hold on her was tight.

"That bloody fucking wanker! That worthless piece of hippogriff shite. Not worth the dirt under my shoe. Filthy fucking excuse for a human," she cursed. Harry wasn't even sure if she was aware that he was even there right now.

"Daphne! Daphne, calm down!" Harry said, raising his voice so he could be heard over her cursing. "Breathe for me, love."

Daphne took deep, calming breaths and Harry placed her feet back on the ground. He turned her around so that she couldn't see the man lying on the floor. All she could see and focus on was Harry. "What the fuck happened here?" Harry asked her, his mind racing.

There was a bloody man on Daphne's bedroom floor. A man that was in such an abused state, clearly, because Daphne had beaten the shit out of him. But, why? And what was he even doing here?

"He tried to… He… H-Har-Harry, he… he almost…" Daphne stuttered, her voice becoming hysterical the more she tried to talk. She turned her attention to the unconscious man on the floor and Harry could feel her magic surge. "That bloody fucking wanker!"

Harry gently turned her head so that she was focused on him again. "Love," he said softly. He sounded much calmer than he really was. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. He needed to calm Daphne down. He needed to help the man that was lying on the floor. He needed to know what happened five minutes before he showed up.

"I want you to breathe for me," Harry told her. Daphne's face was red and tear streaked. He started taking deep breaths, trying to get Daphne to mimic him. He found that that was actually helping him clear his own thoughts. He kept one arm tightly around Daphne's shoulder while he found the galleon in his pocket that he used for communicating with Ron. He sent him coordinates to Daphne's flat and told him to hurry the fuck up.

"Daphne, what happened?" Harry asked again, once Daphne's breathing had become more stable and her face wasn't so flustered. Daphne didn't look like she wanted to tell him. She bit her lip and her eyes started to tear again. Harry thought about using legilimency on her for a brief moment, but he quickly shook the thought out of his head. Not yet. Not like this. He needed to give Daphne time to sort through her own thoughts.

"Clames… Thomas Clames and I… we made a trade. Rounds with Gupta and info on the exams for me teaching him the wandless technique I mastered for mending bones," Daphne said, tears streaming down her face.

"He came over so that we could study. I didn't feel comfortable having him here, so I thought we'd go to the medical library at St. Mungo's. I came in here to get my notes… my room. I came into my room because we were working on the sofa in the living room. I came in my room and he followed me in here and… and he… fucking assaulted me!"

Harry slowly turned his attention to the man lying on the floor. He had a sudden urge to kick the man, himself. But, he couldn't do that. He had finally calmed Daphne down enough to get her talking. Beating the man within an inch of his life was likely to undo all of the work he had done calming Daphne down. He could wait for Ron to get there.

"He tried to touch me, Harry," Daphne said. "I defended myself! I told him no, but he didn't listen. He tried to kiss me and I pushed him away. And then he pushed me up against that wall there and I… I just… punched him as hard as I could." Daphne lifted a shaking finger and pointed to the wall on the far side of the room.

Harry heard the front door open and close and could hear heavy footsteps approaching them. He could feel Daphne tense in his arms and he wrapped his arms around her more tightly. He wanted to make sure that she felt as secure as possible.

"In here, Ron!" Harry called. Ron opened the bedroom door and strode in.

"What the… Blimey, what the fuck happened in here? Is that man dead?" Ron asked, stopping mid-step. Harry shook his head.

"No. He's not dead," Harry answered. He repeated the story that Daphne had told him. Ron knelt down and checked the man's pulse, just to be sure. Ron stood to his full height again and took a deep breath.

"He's going to need medical attention," Ron said softly. "Quickly. And then I'm going to assume that you want to press charges."

"I would, in fact, like to press charges," said the bloody heap on the floor. All eyes snapped to the man on the floor that had finally, and slowly, propped himself up to a sitting position. One of his eyes was swollen shut and his mouth was bloody. There was a long gash on his face that started near his eyebrows and ended under his chin. Daphne couldn't have done this without the help of a wand, could she?

"Fuck you!" Daphne cursed, her blue eyes glittering dangerously.

"Fat chance of that! I don't want you within 100 meters of me, you psychotic bitch! You're an animal!" Clames said. When he spoke, Harry could see that he was missing teeth. He looked around on the floor and didn't see any of the missing bones. He assumed that the man must've swallowed them.

"Wait, you did all of _this_ with just your bare hands?" Ron asked, disbelief lacing his voice.

"Yes," Clames and Daphne answered simultaneously. Clames looking ashamed and Daphne looking smug. Harry couldn't help but be a bit impressed and he noticed that neither could Ron. He looked at her as if she'd just offered him free quidditch tickets.

"Do you want me to file the report or do you want to do it?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head. He was way too involved in the situation. HIs report would be thrown away. Ron would have to do it.

"Right," Ron said, as if reading Harry's mind. "Ugh. I was just about to take a quick nap before you used the coin. You owe me, Potter. Your arse better be at Mum's tomorrow." Ron lifted the man off of the floor by grabbing him around his torso. Clames winced in pain, so Harry assumed that he also had broken ribs. He didn't pity him. He got exactly what he deserved.

"See you later, Harry," Ron said before apparating to the Ministry of Magic. When Harry heard the pop of disapparation, he felt Daphne crumble in his arms. She was crying again and all Harry could do was hold her. There was nothing that he could say. There was nothing else that he could do but to hold her for the moment. There would be no legilimency that day.

 **An intense chapter, yeah? Clames isn't a very good man. But, he got what he deserved didn't he? He'll think twice before trying to push himself on another unwanting woman!**

 **I know people are going to be a little upset with this chapter. Harry is having a problem with his "good guy image" and having an issue with what is right and what is wrong. It's giving depth to his character. He has flaws and he's working through them. I hope you enjoy the bumpy ride.**

 **What did you think of the chapter? Review and let me know what you think! What do you think about Harry and his decision to use Legilimency? What do you think about Teddy meeting Daphne? What about Clames? Do you think we've seen the last of him? And let's not forget about Scamander still at the hospital! Leave a review and let me know what you think!**

 **I'd like to take the time out to thank those who have followed and favorited NQSB. As of right now, this story has 647 followers and 378 favorites. That's amazing! Now, could you imagine how super fantastic it would be for those followers and favoriters reviewed! Fan-freaking-tastic!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello, All! I hope you're having an awesome week!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I do, however, own a scooter that had a lizard on it today. I nearly walked to campus today to avoid having to deal with that situation.**

 **I feel like I need to address something. I absolutely adore my readers (those that review, even more so), but I'm writing this story as something to relieve stress and entertain myself. If you don't like where my story is headed or don't like how I portray a certain character, you are one hundred percent entitled to your feelings. However, I'M writing the story. Threatening to stop reading because you don't like how I'm writing MY story isn't going to dictate the story. I appreciate the feedback and I'm so super happy that people are so involved with the story. But, I encourage everyone to sit down and enjoy the ride. If that is too difficult, you are free to write YOUR own story with your perfect interpretations of your perfect characters.**

 **Now that that's out of the way… an update on my sister. We've reached the part of Goblet of Fire where the first task of the Triwizard tournament is over. She's happy because Ron (her favorite character… idk why) and Harry are friends again. And she's taken to using "Rita Skeeter" as an insult. She is very annoyed with Winky. She is very suspicious of Karkaroff. But, she's a bit pissed that Ludo Bagman was omitted from the movie.**

 **I'd like to take the time out to thank those that took the time out to review:**

 **Aetemus, harryislife, Kagemaru Raiden, Lordban, DraacoClaye, droosh, Sokat, The Amazing Grayson, Vi38, barbaroja, UltimateTouken, Mighty Pen 20, Xarvas, GraphiicChaos, feydran, Rankin de Merthyr, loot, trispectrum, and Xearthes.**

"Harry, you can stop staring at me as if I'm about to combust," Daphne said irritably. She and Harry were sitting on the sofa in her living room. She had just been assaulted by Clames, that bastard that she worked with at St. Mungo's, and while the ordeal was intense and awful, she was immediately trying to repress it all. However, it was difficult to repress anything when someone wouldn't take their eyes off of you, expecting you to break into tears at any moment.

Harry quickly averted his eyes to the small coffee table in front of them. Daphne sighed. How had this happened to her?

-x-

She started her day as any other Saturday. She had a bowl of cereal, a cup of coffee, and her newspaper. She knew that she had made plans to meet Clames at the medical library at St. Mungo's but that wasn't for hours yet.

Daphne had previously hoped to spend her Saturday morning with Harry. Ever since they'd confessed their love for each other, she had been desperate to see him. She wanted to hear him say "I love you" over and over again until his voice was hoarse. She wanted to look into his emerald eyes while he said it, so she knew that she hadn't imagined the whole thing.

Unfortunately, Harry hadn't responded to her owl. She figured that he was busy with work, which was the usual thing for him, and didn't want to pester him with her feelings. Besides, there was nothing wrong with a bowl of cereal and a nice cup of coffee. She didn't _need_ to see Harry.

But, she desperately wanted to. Daphne ended up pacing her apartment, walking up and down the lone hallway in her flat. She would NOT pester Harry about his whereabouts or ask him to meet her again. She was being stupid. Just because a bloke said that he loved you didn't mean that he had to drop his life to spend every waking moment with you. But, maybe, just a few waking moments?

No. Daphne needed to distract herself. She needed to get out of the house and perhaps get some fresh air. It was a nice, sunny, Saturday morning in the summer. When was the last time that she just took a stroll around the neighborhood just for the sake of it? So, Daphne dressed in her muggle jeans and a short-sleeved t-shirt and decided to take a quick walk around, with no real destination in mind.

She walked for a short while until she passed the neighborhood grocery store. Remembering that she didn't have much food in her apartment, she decided to pick up a few things. While she was standing in the coffee aisle debating between French and Italian roasts, she felt as if she were being watched. She looked up to her left and saw a familiar face staring back at her and walking towards her. Daphne fought a grimace and plastered a faux smile on her face.

"Clames, I didn't know that you used this supermarket," Daphne said politely. She immediately started to think of another grocery store in the vicinity. Perhaps that one wouldn't be so crowded and she could start to use _that_ one more instead. She already had to avoid Clames at work, did she really have to start doing so here as well?

"Hello, Daphne. Yes. I live right up the block, so it's only natural for me to come here." Daphne didn't realize how closely they lived to one another. Now that she thought about it, she really didn't know much about Clames at all, did she? "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I just needed to pick up a few things before our meeting," Daphne told him. Clames smiled down at her and Daphne started to feel awkward with how he was looking at her. "Well, I suppose I'll just finish up and see you later then? At the medical library?" Daphne asked, making her way past him, trying to get out of talking to him more than necessary.

Daphne had made a deal with him and she didn't plan on backing out of that deal. However, there was no agreement between the two of them that she needed to be his friend. All she was to do was teach him her wandless magic trick that mended bones. It was the least she could do, afterall. The opportunity to work with Healer Gupta was one of the most amazing and eye-opening experiences Daphne had ever had.

"Actually, I think it's fate that I ran into you so early," Clames said excitedly. Daphne raised an eyebrow at him.

"I actually have plans for later this afternoon. A few of my friends are coming into town for a bit, and I'd like to see them before they have to leave. I was planning on owling you to ask you if we could move our appointment up a bit," Clames explained.

She supposed that they could do the lesson earlier. It would free up her afternoon and she would have more time to get some of her own studying done. However, she hadn't yet mentally prepared herself to be in the presence of Thomas Clames, inappropriate comments extraordinaire.

"I'm fine with that," Daphne said, before grabbing the French roast off of the shelf and placing it in her grocery carriage. Daphne started making her way towards the checkout lines, having finished her shopping and unable to think of anything else that she needed for her empty refrigerator at home. Clames followed closely behind her.

It wasn't until after Daphne had paid for her groceries and they were walking out of the store that Daphne noticed that Clames hadn't bought anything. "Didn't you need to pick something up from the store?" Daphne asked him.

"Oh, I do. But, it can wait for later. I was only going to pick up some snacks for my mates for later. But, everything was more expensive than I thought it'd be. I'll just go to the other supermarket later. Their prices seem to be a bit better, in my opinion," said Clames, reaching for a grocery bag in Daphne's grasp.

"You really don't have to help me, Clames," Daphne said quickly, trying to hold on to the bags in her hand. "I've used a feather-light charm on them. They really weigh nothing at all."

"Nonsense," Clames said, plucking a bag from her hands. "What kind of prat would I look like, walking with a beautiful woman with her arms full and me with nothing in mine? People would talk. I have a reputation to keep up, you know." Daphne rolled her eyes. She didn't know anything about Thomas Clames' reputation, but she suspected that no one would care if they saw him helping her or not. She sure didn't.

As they were walking towards Daphne's flat, she noticed that Clames was walking a bit ahead of her. She wondered if he knew where she lived. The thought unsettled her and made her feel rather uncomfortable.

Daphne could handle herself. She had survived a year with the Carrows. She shouldn't be intimidated by lanky Thomas Clames. If she could protect herself against the leering eyes of Amycus Carrow, then surely she could protect herself against anything that Clames could throw at her. He was a Hufflepuff for Merlin's sake!

"So, how was your day with Gupta?" Clames asked conversationally, when they were a block away from Daphne's flat.

"He's brilliant!" Daphne said excitedly, all thoughts of nervousness gone. She went into great detail about her day under the magnificent Healer. She was like a fountain, exploding with information. It was kind of refreshing, not having to choose her words carefully. With Harry, she had to make sure that he could understand her. If she spoke too quickly or with a medical vocabulary, Harry would pay attention, but she knew that she'd lose him somewhere along the way. With Clames she could speak in her medical jargon and he'd know exactly what she was talking about, being fluent in it himself.

"If I'm being honest with you, I was kind of happy to be rid of my rounds with Gupta," Clames said matter-of-factly. Daphne nearly gasped. How could he say that? Gupta was one of the most intelligent minds of their lifetimes. She'd gladly go grocery shopping with Healer Gupta if she were given the option. He'd probably know which roast to choose without hesitation.

"I don't know. I just really don't think I'd do well in the Janus Thickey ward. I'd much rather deal with patients that have a chance of being healed," Clames said harshly.

Daphne could understand his sentiment, even if he was being a dick about it. She imagined that it would be rather frustrating to work day and night on a cure for patients with no hope in sight. But, to Daphne, that was exactly what had captivated her. The challenge. Daphne was nothing, if not ambitious.

"But, isn't that the lure. Can you imagine the glory and fame you'd get if you reversed mental damage that was once deemed irreversible?" Daphne said aloud.

"Is that why you're a Healer? For the glory and fame?" Clames asked her as they stood in front of Daphne's building. Daphne shrugged. She'd be lying if she said that she was only doing it for the medical discovery. It would also be a half-truth if she said that she only wanted to help people. It was more of a combination of the three: glory, knowledge, and people.

Daphne led him into the building. The feeling of uncertainty came crashing back into her. She didn't feel safe having her back to Clames. Although Clames grabbed a few bags from her arms, she was still carrying quite a bit. Her groceries could interfere with her ability to grab her wand if he decided to attack her. While she did know a bit of wandless magic, she had never used it for anything other than medical purposes. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to protect herself with it if she needed to.

"Clames, if you just give me those groceries, I can take them upstairs and be back down in 2 minutes," Daphne told him, reaching an arm out to him. Clames shook his head quickly and Daphne nearly groaned.

"Nonsense. I'll help you take them up. Besides, it looks like your lift is broken." Clames nodded his head towards the end of the hallway where two maintenance men had the lift doors opened, using their tools on the buttons outside of it. Daphne glared. How had she not noticed that?

"Alright," Daphne reluctantly acquiesced. Clames smiled down at her and Daphne led him towards the stairwell. Daphne had no idea why she felt so uncomfortable. She had had men in her flat before. Harry had been over quite a few times. Even the Slytherin boys had been over a time or two. But, she trusted them. She didn't trust Clames and his shifty eyes. Daphne had often followed her intuition when it came to allowing people into her life and she was effectively ignoring the bells ringing in her head.

"You know, Daphne, I think we could be really good friends," Clames said as they climbed the stairs. Daphne was so caught up in her own world that she could barely hear him over her own thoughts.

"Excuse me?" she asked, unsure if she had heard him correctly.

"Yeah. I mean, we have so much in common. We're both going to be Healers soon. We're both above average in the looks department. We both prefer French Roast over Italian. I mean, who knows what else we could have in common?" Clames said from behind her. Daphne rolled her eyes. Those were hardly things to form a friendship over.

She doubted that she could ever be friends with someone like Thomas Clames. Something about the man didn't sit well with her, regardless of how irrational it all was. In fact, the first time that she had ever met him, he said something extremely rude. 'Your robes would look really good on my bedroom floor, Greengrass.' What kind of overused, trashy pickup line was that, anyway?

Daphne reached the door to her flat and placed her groceries momentarily on the floor. She reached for her wand and removed the wards and opened the door. She picked her groceries up and placed them on the kitchen counter.

"Just place them there, Clames, and I'll put them away," she told him, pointing to the only space available on the counter. For the first time that day, Clames did what she asked, and then sat down in the living room. From her spot in the kitchen in front of the sink, she could see Clames flipping through her notes on bubotuber pus and its effects kidney stones. Well, he certainly made himself at home, didn't he?

While Daphne put her groceries away, her thoughts once again returned to Harry. She wondered if he'd returned her owl from yesterday. She wondered if he was okay. What if he was sent on another mission and was killed by Death Eater? Or another mermaid? The last one did some serious damage. Maybe he'd come across a veela colony and had indeed started his own harem?

"Hey, Daphne! You made a mistake in your notes!" Clames called to her from the living room. If Daphne rolled her eyes one more time she was sure that they'd be forever stuck in the back of her head. She never made a mistake with her notes. She made her way to Clames, her notebook still firmly in his hands.

"What are you on about?" she asked him, already tired of his presence.

"You wrote that the wolfsbane potion has side effects that have been linked to liver damage. That's not true. Healer Smith in the United States has been doing research on the wolfsbane potion, but her findings have shown pancreatic damage. Not liver," he told her, handing her notes back to her.

Daphne prepared herself to argue with him. She was sure that liver damage was a side effect. In fact, it was liver AND kidney damage. There was nothing to be said about the pancreas. However, Clames held up a finger to silence her while he flipped through the pages of one of Daphne's textbooks. He stopped on a page and quickly scanned it before pointing to a line in the heavy textbook.

"Here," said Clames, a smug smile on his face. She glared at him before reading the text. She grimaced. It was, indeed, pancreatic damage. How could she have misquoted that? What if that was on her exams? What if she had decided to further study the wolfsbane potion and started her research with the damage done to the liver and kidney? That could've really screwed her up.

"Uh, thanks Clames," Daphne told him, while mentally scolding herself. She reached for the quill on the coffee table and quickly started to amend her mistake. She wondered what else she had misquoted in her notes.

"Don't mention it, Daphne," he said brightly. "Do you want me to take another look at your notes to see if I spot anything else?" he offered. Daphne nodded her head, unable to speak. She was so ashamed of herself. There she was, being a total bitch to a guy who really didn't deserve it. He was offering to help her even though he didn't have to. Sure, he was a bit of a pervert, but weren't all men to a certain extent anyway? She had spent so much time mistrusting him that she hadn't seriously thought about the positive consequences being his friend could entail.

For the next hour and a half they poured over Daphne's notebooks. They argued over medical theories and debated over the strength of certain healers. They hadn't found anything amiss in Daphne's notes except for the misspelling of Healer Ankilnijnki's name. But really, she couldn't be too hard on herself for that.

Daphne was enjoying herself. It was fun working with someone who had the same career goals and aspirations as she did. It was enlightening to debate with someone who was going through the same things that she was at St. Mungo's. Daphne thought that perhaps she should suggest to Clames that they study together more often. But first…

"Let me just grab my bone mending notes out of my bedroom and I'll be right back. We've spent so much time here studying that I forgot that I'm supposed to be teaching you something today," she told him, standing up from the uncomfortable sofa that Harry had jokingly (or perhaps not jokingly) threatened to burn.

Daphne walked to her bedroom and saw an owl sitting on her bedroom window. Her eyes widened and she nearly tripped over herself trying to reach the bird. She quickly untied the letter from its leg and gave the owl a treat for its service.

She looked down at the letter and scowled. It was from Pansy Parkinson. Although they hadn't spoken in quite some time and she'd normally be rather excited to get a letter from her friend on the continent, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

Who had she become? Daphne Greengrass did NOT wait around for a man to write to her. Even if that man was Harry Potter. Where was her self-respect? She nearly broke her neck trying to get to that owl! Daphne took a deep breath. She could be patient.

"Nice room you got here." Daphne turned around to see Clames coming into her bedroom. "A little messy. I didn't take you for the type, to be honest. I thought your room would be super neat."

"Did I invite you into my room?" Daphne asked, irritation clear in her voice. She didn't want him in her room and she definitely didn't want him passing judgement on the cleanliness of the room. She knew it was a mess! She didn't need to be reminded!

Clames was quickly undoing all of the fondness for him that she had very recently gained.

"Well, you were taking too long. I got bored," he said, walking towards her. Daphne reached into her pocket, seeking the comfort of her wand. However, her wand wasn't in her pocket. It was on the kitchen counter where she set it down while she was putting away her groceries. How stupid could she be?

"I received an owl," Daphne explained. She had no idea why she felt the need to explain herself to him, but that uncomfortable feeling that she had when leading him to her flat was coming back at full force.

She started to slowly back away from him. If he noticed, he didn't let her know that he had. He just continued walking towards her until her back hit the wall.

"I've really liked the arrangements that we've had thus far," Clames commented, standing closer to her than Daphne felt comfortable with.

"What arrangement is that?" Daphne questioned. She tried to non-verbally summon her wand, but she couldn't concentrate. She was starting to panic and her mind was becoming muddled with thoughts.

"Where I scratch your back and you scratch mine," he said softly. Daphne imagined herself scratching Clames' back, but it wasn't the way that he envisioned, she was sure. Her scratches left huge lacerations on his body and left him unable to move.

"I just scratched your back, Daphne," he said, pulling her from her own thoughts.

"You didn't benefit from going over my notes with me?" Daphne asked, trying to think of a way to get this man away from her. Clames scoffed and rolled his eyes as if it was the most bizarre notion on the planet.

"Clames, I'm going to have to ask you to take a few steps back. You're in my personal space and it's making me uncomfortable," Daphne told him. Perhaps he hadn't realized that he was standing so close to her. Maybe his parents hadn't taught him proper manners and he was oblivious to what was indecent when it came to people and their personal space.

"You can't scratch my back if I'm too far away from you," he said in what Daphne assumed was supposed to be a sexy voice. It made her want to vomit.

"What do you want, Clames?" Daphne asked, although she had a good idea what he was after. Daphne regretted asking the question, because Clames' answer was to press his lips against hers. Daphne wrenched her mouth away from his and pushed him away from her. She felt like spitting, she was so revolted.

Clames, however, was very determined. He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms against her sides. He pressed his lips once again to hers. Daphne turned her head away, but that didn't stop Clames from pressing his lips to her neck.

Daphne brought her knee up and it connected with Clames' boy bits. He doubled over in pain, unable to speak. She was sure that if he were able to speak, he'd be swearing at her.

The next thing that she knew, Harry was holding her and trying to get her to calm down. She had completely blacked out due to her anger and that scared her.

-x-

"Harry," Daphne said, tired of the silence that had settled between them. Harry's eyes moved from the coffee table to hers, worry marring his features.

"I… um… I just," Daphne couldn't get the words out. She knew what she wanted to ask, but she was nervous. She was embarrassed for even feeling like it was necessary to ask.

Daphne cleared her throat, hoping that would somehow force the words out. "I… I haven't made pancakes in a while."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, not following what she was saying at all. Daphne tried again.

"I mean, I bought the ingredients for pancakes. But, I'm afraid that I'll mess them up. Do you think that maybe you could help me with them tomorrow morning?" she asked him. Harry nodded his head, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Pancakes taste the best early in the morning," Daphne continued. "So, you'd better stay the night so we don't miss the best pancake-making-time."

"If you're sure," Harry said. He sounded hesitant about the idea, but Daphne was one-hundred percent sure. She didn't want to be alone in her flat. Since the ordeal, she hadn't even gone into her bedroom. She was paranoid and afraid and having Harry there with her made her feel like she'd be safer. The man was an auror after all.

"Yes. We can just sleep on the sofa again," Daphne suggested, thinking of the last time that she saw Harry and how wonderful her morning had been that day.

"Okay," Harry said, reaching out a hand to her. Daphne grabbed it and squeezed it in hers. She released a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. She knew that she was going to have trouble sleeping that night, but maybe having Harry there could chase away her nightmares.

"I know that you hate my sofa, but-,"

"Your sofa is awful," Harry interrupted her. "But, I love you. I'd rather sleep on your sofa with you than have you be alone. I was going to suggest you come to my place with me. Or maybe getting a hotel for the night. But, if you want to stay here, we can do that."

Daphne's heart fluttered. He said that he loved her again. And he said it so casually, as if it was easy for him to say. As if those three little words didn't completely make Daphne's world shake.

"I love you," she said back to him. Harry smiled brightly at her and Daphne's heart fluttered again. She leaned her head on his shoulder. That day was one of the worst days that Daphne had experienced since the ending of the war, but having Harry there with her made her feel better.

They sat like that in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Daphne wasn't sure what was plaguing Harry, but she couldn't stop worrying about her missing memories. She had nearly killed someone with her bare hands and she couldn't even remember how.

She didn't feel guilty in the slightest about it, either. The prat deserved what he got. She wished that she would've had her wand on her. She could've really done some damage, then.

Weasley had written down everything that she could remember before he took the injured Clames into custody. She assumed that he was probably at the hospital being healed. She hoped that he was assigned to Healer Vamil; he was by far the worst Healer at St. Mungos. The man really should've retired decades ago.

Weasley informed her that she would probably have to go down to the DMLE for a follow-up to fill out paperwork. She would have to go during the week. She wasn't looking forward to that. She didn't want to have to take the time off from work, but she wasn't too happy with the idea of having to cut into her lunch time. However, she was going to do whatever was necessary to make sure that Thomas Clames stayed very far away from her.

Harry's stomach rumbled, pulling Daphne out of her thoughts. Harry shot up from the sofa and rushed towards the front door. Daphne stood up too, startled by the sudden movement.

"Fuck," Harry groaned, standing at the threshold of her flat with the front door held wide open.

"What's happened?" Daphne asked him, nervous at the answer. Had Clames come back?

Harry laughed and turned towards her, running a nervous hand through his hair. "I, uh, brought you pizza and I forgot about it. I heard you screaming and kinda… dropped it."

Daphne walked towards Harry and saw, what she was sure had been a perfect pizza, lying on the floor outside her flat. She gasped.

"You dropped pizza?" Daphne asked him, eyes wide in disbelief. That was blasphemous in her eyes.

"I dropped pizza _for you_. This isn't a common occurrence. I don't just walk around dropping pizzas everywhere I go. I'm not a monster," he said, defending himself.

"That's debatable. Dropping even one pizza should be punishable by a lifetime sentence in Azkaban," Daphne said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Thank Merlin you're not on the Wizengamot," Harry muttered under his breath. Daphne heard him and glared at her boyfriend. They both broke into laughter.

"I'm starving and I know you are as well. How about I buy the hero of the day a pizza to make up for the pizza that he so unheroically dropped?" Daphne suggested, wrapping her arms around Harry's torso. He rolled his eyes but smiled down at her.

"The pizza was for you. I even made sure that they put those nasty mushrooms that you're so fond of on it," Harry told her. Daphne smiled up at him. She _did_ love mushrooms.

"Well, then we can get pepperoni and mushrooms," she suggested.

"If you think that you're putting mushrooms on anything that I'm supposed to eat, then you must really hate me," Harry told her. Daphne rolled her eyes.

"You can just pick the mushrooms off!" Daphne argued, although she had no idea why anyone would want to do something as ridiculous as picking mushrooms off of a pizza.

"No, I can't. The pizza would already be tainted with mushroom juice. I… I can't do it," Harry said seriously. Daphne rolled her eyes at him.

"You can fight dark wizards and fly to great heights with nothing but a twig to keep you from plummeting to your death, but a tiny little fungus gets your knickers in a twist?" Daphne teased.

"Boxer briefs," he corrected her. Harry picked up the fallen pizza and disposed of it in Daphne's rubbish bin. Before they could make their way to the pizza place that wasn't too far away from her apartment, Harry wrapped his arms around Daphne, holding her tight.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her. Daphne smiled into his chest but she shook her head "no". She wasn't alright, but she was hoping that she would be. She was still quite shaken from the experience. She was afraid of her own shadow and she was afraid of being away from Harry. Things were fine now, but how would she manage when he went home? How would she manage at work?!

"We can just order pizza from here. We don't have to leave," Harry suggested. Daphne felt a bit relieved but she felt even more embarrassed. She wasn't even comfortable with leaving her flat. A few hours earlier and she was walking around her neighborhood just for the sake of it. Now, however, that sounded like a terrible idea. How absolutely pathetic.

 **Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **I mustache you… I'm sorry. I must ask you to leave a review! I love to read them (for the most part) and try to reply to all of them. We're so close to 250! I can almost taste it! But, I mean… if we surpassed that, that'd be cool too!**

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 **Thank you!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello, All! I hope all of you are having an amazing week.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I do, however, own a scooter that I almost forgot on campus the other day.**

 **Before I start, I would like to remind all of my readers that this story is un-beta'd. I do a quick read through after I write the chapter, but if I miss anything, it's all on me. I'd also like to remind everyone that I'm an American, so my British lingo sucks.**

 **This week has been rather rough. I live in Florida and the shooting of Pulse Night Club in Orlando has really hit the state pretty hard. There's still quite a bit that we don't know. We do, however, know that this was a heinous, disgusting hate crime. I encourage all of my readers to reach out to your loved ones and remind them how much you love them. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed. My heart still aches at the thought of the innocent lives that were taken away because someone else disagreed with their lifestyles. I urge you to punch all homophobes in the face to honor the slain lives. (Not really, but really)**

 **If you read my Author Notes, you'll know by now that my sister and I are reading the Harry Potter series together. We're at the part where Harry is about to take Cedric's advice and take a bath with the golden egg. She is a very big Ron/Hermione shipper and it makes me only slightly sick.**

 **I'd like to take the time out to thank all those that have reviewed. I really appreciate those that take the time out to review:**

 **Wewee, The Amazing Grayson, droosh, feydran, barbaroja, DraacoClaye, Xarvas, KingPlotBunny, KagemaruRaiden, kddr1122, Vi38, Lord Silindel, Ingriz, Sunny9515, ErikaNeubert, sanbeegoldiewhitey, trispectrum, and kyuzo3567**

"Harry, I don't need you to babysit me," Daphne said, exasperation evident in her voice. It was the day after Daphne's assault and she and Harry were eating pancakes and bacon for their breakfast. Daphne was happy that Harry agreed to stay with her, but she knew that he couldn't just put his life on hold. He had plans for that Sunday and she wasn't going to keep him from them.

"I'm sure Mrs. Weasley would understand. She has Sunday dinner every week. I could always go next-,"

"And what about Teddy?" Daphne asked, interrupting him. Harry had told Daphne the night before that he had plans to take Teddy to the Weasley's home for Sunday dinner, but that he decided to cancel those plans for her. Originally, Daphne had selfishly been elated. More time with Harry and less time looking over her shoulder for shadows that weren't hers. However, in the morning light, the thought unsettled her.

"I can just take him next week," Harry replied shrugging. Daphne shook her head. This didn't sit well with her at all.

"Harry, I will be fine. I want you to go and see the Weasleys and I want you to take Teddy and let everyone fawn over him and berate you for not seeing them as often as you should," Daphne said, a tone of finality dripping from her voice. Harry still looked unsure. Daphne knew that Harry was really worried about her. She felt comforted and flattered that he cared about her so much, but she wasn't going to come between Harry and his pseudo family.

Besides, Daphne was fine. At least, she kept telling herself that she was. Clames hadn't really done anything to her, right? He kissed her and she stopped him. It possibly could've been worse, but it hadn't gotten that far. Besides, maybe she had led him on somehow? Maybe she had given him some inclination that she was interested in him? Maybe this was all her fault?

Of course it wasn't. Thomas Clames was a piece of hippogriff manure and the world was better off without him. However true that fact was, that didn't mean that she was going to need Harry around as her personal bodyguard. She couldn't very well take him with her to work on Monday. Why wait until then? She was fine!

"Are you sure?" Harry asked her, his eyes bearing into hers. She maintained eye-contact as she nodded her head.

"Absolutely. Harry, I am fine. Yesterday was rough, but today will be better," Daphne said firmly.

"You can always come with me, you know? I'm sure the Weasleys would love to-,"

Daphne quickly shook her head "no". The thought of meeting the Weasleys horrified her. There were a lot of them and she wasn't too keen on being bombarded by the redheads. From her time at Hogwarts, she had known of five of the seven children. While she had never spoken to them, nor had the desire to, she could remember hearing them bustling down the halls and causing quite a ruckus. Being in their home with them, after what she dealt with yesterday, just seemed like it would be too much for her to handle.

Not to mention, she was Harry's girlfriend and he was going to visit his ex-girlfriend's family house. She was sure that she didn't have to worry about Harry being swayed into rekindling a relationship with the quidditch player, but she didn't want to be in the same house as the girl's mother! How horrifying!

Then, of course, there was Teddy to think about. Daphne didn't really dislike children. In fact, she had always planned on having some of her own. However, she didn't necessarily like them either. They made her anxious and twitchy.

Teddy AND the Weasleys AND all after the day where she was assaulted? She was sure that she was fine, but if she had to deal with all of that, she was sure that she wouldn't be.

"I don't think that that's a good idea, Harry," Daphne told him. She refrained from saying 'I would rather artificially inseminate a unicorn than go with you to the Weasleys.'

"Well, I don't think that it's a good idea for you to be alone right now," Harry pressed on. Daphne would've rolled her eyes if Harry didn't look so absolutely sincere at the moment.

"You've already met Ron! And that wasn't so bad. I'm sure you'd like the others. Bill is really nice and Percy is the most Slytherin Gryffindor I've ever met. And George, well George isn't quite the same since Fred… since the Battle of Hogwarts, but he's getting there. And-,"

"Harry. I think another time would be better. A different time," Daphne said, her eyes widening with every word that he said. Harry could see how overwhelmed she felt and nodded his head slowly in understanding.

"What if I hang out with Hermione today? I haven't seen her in a while. We've got quite a bit of catching up to do. Would that make you feel better?" Daphne asked, knowing that Harry would accept. All he cared about was that she wasn't alone. It annoyed her a bit, but she could understand why he was acting so protective of her. She only hoped that this wouldn't be a common thing.

"Yes, that would make me feel better," Harry conceded, a small smile replacing the frown that was previously on his face. Daphne sighed before taking a bite of her bacon. She would write to Hermione after breakfast. She, like Harry and Daphne, was always busy. If you didn't give Hermione a two weeks notice, you might not get the opportunity to see her at all.

"I'm sorry that I'm being so… overbearing," Harry apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Daphne told him, honestly surprised. She hadn't expected for him to apologize to her.

"You tossed and turned all night last night," Harry told her, before attempting to make a dent in his stack of pancakes.

"I think that was more because of the sofa," Daphne lied. "Even transfiguration didn't make that sofa any more comfortable than a bed of rocks." Harry wasn't buying it.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen to you," he told her through a mouthful of pancakes.

"I know. Thank you, Harry," Daphne said, standing up from her tiny table in the dining room and taking her empty plate into the kitchen. Harry followed her.

"I'm a good listener!" Harry continued on, placing his plate into the sink.

"Now, I know that that's bullshit," Daphne told him before taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. "Gryffindors don't listen to anyone or anything."

Harry scoffed. "I believe that it is your house that has a total disregard for rules," he pointed out.

"Okay. But we listen to the rules before we break them. And, I'd like to point out that you broke way more rules in school than I did," Daphne teased. Harry laughed.

"Fair point. But I was a special case."

"Ah, yes. The chosen one. How could I forget," Daphne said before sticking her tongue out at him. Harry rolled his eyes but the wide smile remained on his face.

"Okay, Mrs. Goody-two shoes, what was the worst thing you ever did at Hogwarts?" Harry challenged.

"You mean besides wearing too much eye-shadow at the Yule Ball?" Daphne asked without thinking. Harry burst out into laughter. It was nice talking to Harry like this. She loved how things could be tense between them one moment and the next they acted like best friends. She loved how she could be having an internal struggle and Harry could pull her out of it with his teasing. Merlin, she loved him so much.

"I didn't notice your eyeshadow," Harry told her.

"I'd be surprised if you did. We barely crossed paths during the ball. Didn't you take one of the Patil twins?" she asked him. He nodded his head.

"Parvati."

"You remember?" Daphne asked, astonished.

"Of course I remember," Harry said, his eyebrows knitting together. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because your eyes were glued to Cho Chang's all night," Daphne teased. Harry's face turned pink and Daphne couldn't suppress her giggles.

"They were not!" Harry lied.

"They were too!"

"How would you know? You must've been starting pretty hard at me all night," Harry rebuttled. Daphne gasped and quickly shook her head. She could feel her face heating up.

"You were, weren't you? You were staring at me," Harry said, a smug grin on his bespectacled face.

"I was not!" Daphne argued.

"You had a crush on me in school. Admit it," he teased, his smugness only becoming more evident with every second that passed.

"I admit nothing. However, you can't blame me for people watching. I was asked to Yule by a Durmstrang student and his grasp of the English language was nearly non-existent as was my grasp of Bulgarian. I really couldn't do much of anything else," Daphne said, defending herself and her pride. She might've had a bit of a crush on Harry in school, but she wasn't going to admit that to him. It would only make his big head even bigger.

"Besides, I thought you wanted to know the worst thing I ever did at Hogwarts?" Daphne asked, changing the subject back to their previous topic of conversation. Harry looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Fine. But we're picking this back up again. I want to know ALL about how much you loved Harry Potter," he said, his emerald eyes alight with mischief. Daphne rolled her eyes but thought back to her school days.

She supposed that she was a goody-two shoes. She hadn't done anything like when Pansy went streaking through the common room or when Blaise snuck in a thousand galleons of firewhiskey. She _had_ released Millicent Bulstrode's pet cat into the forbidden forest, but that was because Daphne was allergic and the blasted thing loved to lie on her pillows. Then, she thought of it.

"Okay. What I'm going to tell you, I've never told anyone. You have to promise not to tell anyone," Daphne whispered, as if there were people in her flat that could hear her. "Only a select few know."

"Okay," Harry whispered back to her. Daphne took a deep breath, preparing herself to tell her story.

"Have you ever wondered why Astoria was contractually promised to Draco Malfoy instead of me?" Daphne asked. Harry shrugged.

"I always figured that it was because your parents liked you more so they didn't want to force that kind of punishment onto you."

Daphne rolled her eyes and hit Harry on the arm softly. "No, you idiot. And, I don't know how much better Vincent Crabbe would've been. At least Draco can hold a conversation."

"What does this have to do with you breaking rules at Hogwarts?" Harry asked her, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, I didn't technically break any rules at Hogwarts. But, I did do something wrong. Something very, very wrong," Daphne confessed.

"What did you do?" he asked her, excitement in his voice. Daphne had to fight back a laugh. He was super excited to hear this story and she was so embarrassed to tell it.

"I almost ruined several alliances within Slytherin house," Daphne confessed.

"How did you manage that?" Harry asked, intrigued. From the look on his face, Daphne could tell that he was waiting to be impressed.

"Well, during our third year, my parents were becoming unbearable. They had always been unbearable, mind you. But… they had become more so. They kept arguing over marriage contracts for my sister and I and we weren't even allowed to give an opinion. What we thought didn't matter. What we thought never mattered.

"The marriage contract between Draco and I was nearly finalized and… I couldn't bear it. It wasn't just the fact that Draco was a little shit. It was the fact that I had absolutely no say-so in the matter. And being in classes with Draco and seeing him in the common room and knowing that I'd have to be his wife someday… it made my stomach turn.

"So, one day after breakfast, Blaise had managed to get a letter from Mrs. Malfoy that was meant from Draco. There was nothing dark in it; it was rather cute in my opinion. However, the guys all passed the letter around, laughing at how much Draco's mother loved him and how she spoke to him like a 6-year-old. Well, I got my hands on the letter, and that's when I had an idea.

"My mother and Mrs. Malfoy were faux friends. You know, they'd smile in each other's faces and compliment each other on how lovely their new drapes were, but then they'd sneer at each other behind their backs and give scathing remarks on how fat the other has gotten. It was disgusting, but it was political. And, I was so angry, Harry. I was upset and no one seemed to care.

"So, one day, I wrote a letter to my mother pretending to be Mrs. Malfoy. I told her that she was getting fat, that I knew that her china did not date back to the Merlin era, and that Lucius Malfoy would sever business relations with them because I'd found out that she had three sisters who were squibs.

"I have a hidden talent. I'm very good at calligraphy and I'm even better at mimicking handwriting styles. So, after sending that letter, all hell broke loose. The Greengrasses were at odds, our business partnerships were quickly failing, and it was causing a rift with the purebloods. You were either on the Greengrass side or on the Malfoy side."

Harry's eyes were as large as dinner plates. Daphne could tell that he was impressed. Although Daphne hadn't intended for things to blow up the way that they had, she couldn't say that she didn't enjoy the drama of it all. It served them all right for thinking that they could control her life with no consequences. She was just supposed to do whatever they said like a humble house elf because they had done the same thing for their parents at her age. Daphne had too much ambition for that lifestyle.

"Things were pretty normal at Hogwarts. I rarely talked to Draco while we attended school anyway, so if he was giving me the "silent treatment" I didn't notice. The really fun things were happening between our parents. Planning charity events on the same day and getting into bidding wars over failing companies; it was all very pathetic. In fact, I think the Malfoys ruined a potential suitor for Florina Zabini because she chose to maintain a Greengrass alliance. She was quite angry, but I believe that the Malfoys really did the gentleman a favor. She's a black widow, you know?"

Harry nodded his head. "I had heard something like that. But, then, how did your sister get chosen for Malfoy? She's a Greengrass."

"Like all great things, my fun came to an end," Daphne started again. "They were in and out of court, spending enormous amounts of galleons on attorneys and buying off Wizengamot members. It wasn't until my inheritance was on the line that I spoke up. They got rid of the land in Amsterdam to pay legal fees and that was my FAVORITE home. I came clean to my parents about it after the Yule Ball in fourth year."

"Bet you got in some serious trouble for that, eh?" Harry asked. Daphne nodded. She was grounded for what felt like forever. She remained in England for her summer holidays, she was forced to watch her sister open numerous presents for Christmas while she got nothing, and she had to apologize in person to the Malfoys and beg for their forgiveness.

"The contract was rewritten, but Astoria's name was on it instead of mine. I was promised to a lower family, the Crabbes. If I fucked that one up, I'd be disinherited and my bust would've been broken."

"Your what?!" Harry asked quickly, obviously misunderstanding. Daphne laughed and shook her head.

"In my ancestral home, we have a garden filled with the busts of all of our family members dating back centuries. To have my bust broken would mean that I was no longer a Greengrass," Daphne explained. Harry nodded his head, finally understanding.

"It was all for nothing, though. I'm disinherited anyway and I'm sure my bust is in broken pieces on the ground," Daphne said, a humorless laugh escaping her lips. It was for the better. She didn't regret her decision to leave her family behind. She did what was best for her. She would always do what was best for her.

"I can't believe that you did that," Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief but a smile on his face.

"I used my powers for good too, you know," Daphne exclaimed.

"Oh, really?" Harry asked, his arms crossing over his chest, impressed smile still on his face.

"Yes! I'll have you know that you and your band of lions weren't the only people who liked Hagrid. I liked him, too!" Daphne confessed.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "I never knew that."

Daphne could feel herself flush. "There was a moment at Hogwarts where I could no longer stand Millicent's stupid cat. Long story short, I released the little beast into the Forbidden Forest and found myself regretting doing so later that day. So I went in after it, to retrieve it. I got lost and Hagrid found me." Daphne said quickly. Harry laughed heartily.

"You weren't a very nice person," he commented.

"I went back for the little monster, didn't I? It didn't matter though, because when I got back to the dungeons it was lying on my pillow again. Merlin, I hated that cat," Daphne grumbled. Harry laughed again and Daphne couldn't help but join him.

"So, when that awful Rita Skeeter wrote that article about him in the Daily Prophet, I used my amazing talent to help Hagrid as best as I could. Did you know that Filch has a list of all of the students that ever served detention with him? Well, I did. And I snagged the list, used the names for my letters, and send dozens of them to Dumbledore fighting for Hagrid's job at Hogwarts."

Harry couldn't have looked more impressed if Daphne told him that she was Nimue reincarnated. He took a step towards her and wrapped his arms around her.

"You did that?" he asked her softly, his eyes sparkling like emeralds. Daphne nodded and smiled brightly at him.

"I wasn't too mean in school. I had a heart," she said before Harry pressed his lips to hers. He tasted like syrup and bacon and Daphne couldn't have been happier in that moment.

-x-

Daphne knocked on the door to Hermione's flat. She hadn't sent the letter like she had hoped to because she had gotten distracted by Harry's presence. But, she did promise to try to see Hermione while Harry was busy with the Weasleys and Teddy, so there she was, knocking on Hermione's door with no one answering.

Daphne was about to walk away when she thought to try opening the door. She didn't sense any magical wards on the door, so she figured that there would be no harm in just jiggling the handle.

The door was unlocked. That was weird. Hermione was usually very good about her security. Daphne grabbed her wand out of her pocket and held it firmly in her hand. Something wasn't right and Daphne was on high alert. She looked over her shoulders, as if expecting to see someone lurking behind her, ready to grab her.

She briefly thought about going to get help; this was a job for someone with training. However, what if Hermione was in trouble? What if she had been kidnapped? What if there was no time for her to find help. Daphne took a deep breath and opened the door, her mind made up.

"Hello?" Daphne called out. There was no response. She took a step into the flat, her breath the only noise that her ears were picking up. She tightened her hold on her wand and continued walking through Hermione's flat. Nothing looked amiss. It looked like it did the last time that Daphne had been there.

"Hermione?" she called again, walking around the flat. The kitchen was empty as was the bathroom off of the living room. She was about to check Hermione's office when she heard what sounded like a female's voice moaning in pain coming from Hermione's bedroom. Daphne jumped out of fear and thought about going to get that professional help that she had been thinking about earlier.

No. If the roles were reversed, Hermione would burst through that door without any hesitation. She could do the same. She would do the same.

Daphne took another deep breath and marched towards the bedroom door, her wand firmly in her hand and held out in front of her. If there was anything unsavory happening behind that door, she was damned well going to be prepared for it.

She slammed the door open, eyes wide and a curse on her lips. However, the words were stuck in her throat. She stood there, motionless and in disbelief of what was happening in front of her. How the hell had this happened again?

She saw two naked bodies covered in sweat and slamming into one another. Draco was behind Hermione, his hands firmly on her hips, pulling her back onto him and Hermione was in front of Draco on her hands and knees, pushing back onto him. The loud moans that Daphne had been hearing had not been a female in pain, but a female in ecstasy.

Daphne let out a squeak of surprise, coming out of her stupor. Both sets of eyes shot up to her and chaos ensued. Hermione and Draco were quickly trying to cover themselves, both swearing and scrambling over themselves, searching for clothes. Daphne turned around and ran out of the room. She had seen more of them than she had ever wanted to. She knew that it was a bad idea to leave the house that day.

"Daphne, wait!" she heard Hermione call for her. Daphne stopped in the living room, her breath ragged and her face red from embarrassment. She had never seen anything like that. Sure, she had thought about being intimate like that with Harry sometimes, but to actually _see_ it was completely different. Especially if it was her friends! Her friends who, up until this point, she had given up on ever entering a relationship.

Hermione came into the living room, a robe quickly thrown on her body. Her face was just as red as Daphne's, if not redder. Her hair was wilder than usual and there were visible love marks on her neck. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you call?"

"I- I lost my cellphone a while ago," Daphne stuttered out. Daphne had found a rather interesting spot on the floor to stare at.

"What is it with you purebloods and not being able to keep up with your cellulars?" Hermione asked, exasperated.

"What do you mean "you purebloods"?" Draco had entered the room, but Daphne was too invested in staring at the floor to look up and see him.

"I mean "you purebloods"," Hermione repeated. "What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, her attention back on Daphne. Daphne flinched. She wished that she could just melt into the floor. Why did she always have to find them in compromising positions. At least this time they were in the comfort of one of their own homes.

"I came to see if you wanted to catch a movie or get some lunch or something," Daphne told her, her eyes moving from the floor to the ceiling. She wondered if Hermione knew that there was a spiderweb in a corner of her ceiling.

"Oh," Hermione said dumbly.

"Your door was unlocked and your wards were down, so I worried that something had happened. After yesterday, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," Daphne said, staring intently at the web, trying to see if she could find the spider that had made it.

"You forgot to lock the door?!" Hermione asked shrilly. Daphne looked at her to see that her eyes were blazing and locked on Draco.

"I was caught up in the moment. I didn't think Daphne would come barging in!" Draco said, pointing at Daphne. "Wait. What happened to you yesterday?" he asked, as if he had suddenly remembered what she said.

Daphne wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling very cold. "Nothing really. There was just a bit of an altercation at my apartment. It was handled," Daphne told them nonchalantly. Draco and Hermione narrowed their eyes at her. Daphne sighed. She should've known that they wouldn't be satisfied with that explanation.

Daphne retold the story to Hermione and Draco. She kept her voice emotionless and detached, hoping to come off as normal. She didn't want to sound as if she were on the brink of a panic attack or as if she were desperately afraid of being alone. She retold the story as if it happened to someone else.

Draco and Hermione stared at her, listening with rapt attention. They didn't interrupt her with questions or comments. They just stood there and listened and waited with worried expression on their faces.

"And so I had to tell Harry that I would see you today. You know, just so he wouldn't be burdened with babysitting me today," Daphne said, finishing her story. "I suppose I could've floo called. That would've been the smart thing to do. But, my mind has been even more jumbled than it usually is."

Hermione walked towards Daphne and wrapped her arms around her in a fierce hug. Daphne was surprised even though she really shouldn't have been. Hermione was a hugger and whether she was wearing a flimsy robe after a quick shag or wearing an ugly jumper after a day at the park, she was going to hug.

"I've been a terrible friend," Hermione told her, hugging Daphne tighter. Daphne reciprocated the hug and patted Hermione on the back.

"No! You've just been busy. We both have. I'm sure if we both had the time we'd have drowned in tequila by now," Daphne responded.

"No tequila for you. Remember what happened last time? When you went looking for the sword in the stone?" Draco commented from his spot in the room.

Hermione quickly turned around and faced him, a glare on her face. "Now is not the time for that story, Draco. Daphne doesn't need that right now!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Well, she doesn't need you to coddle her right now, either. What she needs is for everyone to treat her as if we normally would. I spend most of my time with Daphne going back and forth between insulting her and insulting others with her."

"To be fair, Hermione hugs me quite a bit on an average day, anyway," Daphne said. Hermione dropped her arms from Daphne's body quickly and Daphne gave her a small smile.

"Besides, Hermione, it's not like we're not going to get revenge on the bastard," Draco said nonchalantly, walking towards the kitchen and grabbing an apple off of the counter.

"Right," Hermione quickly agreed.

"Wait, what? You're not going to argue with me? You're not going to suggest that we leave this to the authorities?" Draco asked around a mouthful of apple.

"This isn't your secretary bringing you the wrong coffee order, Draco. This was sexual assault. I've always said that the Wizarding world has always been very lenient when it comes to cases of sexual assault. He'll surely get a slap on the wrist. If that's the case, then I suggest we take things into our own hands. Of course, we'll have to be subtle," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Of course," Draco agreed. "Daphne, I know you've been thinking of something. Care to share with the class? Perhaps a letter to his mother calling her fat?" Draco asked, summoning a piece of parchment and an ink pen.

"I have been thinking of a few things regarding revenge, yes," Daphne replied, ignoring the jab to her childhood mischief. "But first, how long has… this… whatever the fuck you two are doing… been going on?"

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	21. Chapter 21

**Hello, All! I know it's been a while and I apologize. This past week has been absolutely crazy.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. But I do own a scooter that desperately needs to be cleaned.**

 **So, if you've been reading my Author Notes, then you know that I'm reading GOF with her. Cedric has just died. She is not very happy with that. We still don't know who's put Harry's name in the Goblet, but she heavily suspects Karkaroff (she really hates Karkaroff). It's so great reading with her because she gets so into the story. She gets personally offended by anything that Wormtail does and she gets super excited anytime the Golden Trio does something against the Slytherins. (She hates Slytherin even though she knows that that's where I'm sorted.)**

 **I would, of course, like to take the time out to thank those that have left a review:**

 **Dragul, harryislife, Xarvas, FierceDeityLinkMask, Deathlord135, Vi38, Ingriz, MichaelJ-D, trispectrum, ShadouRyu-kun, CCBottle, DraacoClaye, Kagemaru Raiden, BurningDay, ErikaNeubert, feydran, and SoapOpera**

"So, I've been thinking… that maybe we could sleep in my bed tonight."

Harry looked up from the Death Eater reports that Ron had given him to read over and correct. Had he just heard Daphne correctly? From the way that she was biting her bottom lip and looking staring intently at her plate of chicken and vegetables, Harry was sure that he hadn't misheard her.

"I mean, you've been staying over here the past few nights. I know that your back must be killing you. That can't be good for your line of work," she said clearly, though her eyes were still glued to her plate. Harry knew that Daphne was nervous. He didn't need the Auror training to be able to see that she was uncomfortable. He couldn't understand why, though. Did she really think that he was going to turn down her offer to sleep in her bed?

Ever since Daphne's attack on Saturday, Harry had been staying the night at Daphne's flat. It was now Monday evening, and although Harry hadn't complained, his back was in quite a bit of pain.

He hadn't planned on sleeping at Daphne's for so long. He was just worried that she wasn't okay. She acted like everything was back to normal, but sometimes she'd get a far off look in her eyes that concerned him. He didn't ask her about it because he knew that she would be annoyed and accuse him of hovering, but he couldn't help but just… keep an eye on her.

In fact, he was originally planning on going back to Grimmauld Place that night. He didn't want to smother Daphne with his presence. But, apparently, Daphne had other plans.

"Uh… yeah. Okay. If you're sure?" Harry agreed, hesitantly. Daphne nodded slowly, her eyes moving from the plate in front of her up to Harry's.

Harry could feel his thoughts clouding. He was going to be in Daphne's bed. He had never been in Daphne's bed. This… this was big, wasn't it? Daphne rarely let him in her room because it was usually in disarray, but that night she expected to sleep in her bed. Every night that Harry had spent there, intentional or not, had been spent on Daphne's awful excuse for a sofa.

Thinking of Daphne in a bed was doing weird things to him. Sure, they had slept together on her sofa, which left very little room to move around and forced their bodies to be pressed together whether they wanted it that way or not. But, Daphne in a bed with him, where they could move around and sleep comfortably… or not sleep at all.

Harry shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking of things like that. Not when he hadn't finished reading over Ron's notes and definitely not so soon after Daphne's attack. He pushed his thoughts of Daphne splayed across the bed, her lips swollen from kissing, her moaning his name in ecstasy…

"Harry, are you okay? Your face is red. Do you need water?" Daphne asked, concern all over her face and dripping into her voice. Harry quickly shook his head.

"NO! No, I'm fine," he told her, trying not to think about how badly he wanted to… "It's just Ron's writing. It's… it's awful, you know? Just dreadful. I have to get the guy a dictionary for Christmas," Harry lied.

Daphne's eyes widened a fraction before she rolled her eyes. "Oh, hell," Daphne groaned.

"It's really not that bad," Harry said, confused with Daphne's reaction. "I mean, he could use a dictionary, but his grammar isn't bad at all."

"No, not that," Daphne said, running a frustrated hand through her hair. "I'm supposed to go to the DMLE tomorrow. I completely forgot. I'm supposed to fill out paperwork for the… you know? So, Clames and I won't have to work together. I want a full restraining order and I want to make sure that snake doesn't slither his way out of this." Harry didn't correct her, even though Thomas Clames was a badger and _she_ was actually the snake.

Thinking of Daphne in the DMLE reminded Harry of another pressing matter that he had been trying to repress into the recesses of his mind. He still had a decision to make. Robards hadn't hassled him at work that day, but every time that the paths crossed, he would send Harry a questioning glance.

Harry had originally planned to use legilimency on Daphne to get information on her father. But, after Daphne's attack, the thought made him sicker than it had originally. Daphne's trust had been broken already by a co-worker, he couldn't bear to think that he could further injure her.

Harry wasn't a master legilimens. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to slip into Daphne's mind without her knowing. And even if he did, he would know. He would know and the guilt would eat him alive.

Harry knew that he had to do something. The little information that had come back involving Daphne's father proved that he could be potentially dangerous. Sightings of him near muggle cities that had been attacked, money transfers from false companies abroad that were previously owned by the Greengrass estate, and family history regarding the Dark Arts were all red flags. However, there wasn't anything strong enough to get a warrant and no one knew where the bastard was.

It was more difficult to get Mr. Greengrass than any of the previous Death Eaters because the man's involvement with Voldemort was either nonexistent or very well hidden. He hadn't faced any charges after the Battle of Hogwarts.

Robards had warned against Harry telling anyone about his, technically illegal, mission. Robards thought that he was doing Harry a favor by not bringing Daphne in for questioning, but he had actually fucked him over. Harry would've rather had Daphne brought in for questioning like Theodore Nott (or her own sister for that matter) than putting him in this impossible situation.

Hadn't he done enough for the Wizarding World? Harry was sure that he had reached his quota for sacrifices made for the greater good. For fuck's sake, he was tired of having things fall on his shoulders. No one was asking any of the other Aurors to potentially end their relationships for the cause? At least, not that he knew of. There were so many secrets within the Auror Department, he wasn't sure of anything anymore.

His conscience wasn't going to allow him to use legilimency on Daphne without her permission and he couldn't ask for that permission without telling her about his mission. He regretted even accepting this fucked up mission in the first place. Why had he? Why hadn't he told Robards to go fuck himself? Why did he still feel the need to prove himself?

Daphne planned on going to the DMLE in the morning, so Harry had to do something. He couldn't put off making a decision any longer. If Daphne found out about it, or if Robards decided to question her, Harry could potentially lose his job _and_ Daphne. Robards would know that Harry hadn't even made an attempt to complete the mission and Daphne would know that Harry had purposefully kept something from her. Something that directly affected her.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't going to be able to finish reading over Ron's report. There was no way that he was going to be able to focus on it. Not with his mind in such a clusterfuck.

Daphne used her wand to send her dishes to the sink and stood up. "Well, if I'm going to the DMLE tomorrow, I'd better get some sleep." She stretched and her shirt rose up to above her navel.

"I'm going to take a quick shower and then the bathroom's all yours," she told him, walking towards her bedroom. Water was so scarce in some parts of the world. Why couldn't they do their part to conserve water by sharing the shower?

He heard the shower start and his mind started to wander again. The only thing that could possibly be better than a Daphne in the bed, was a soaking wet Daphne in the shower.

It had been so long since he had had sex with someone. Too long. The last had been Ginny and that had been a while ago. There was nearly a moment when he hooked up with someone immediately after his breakup with Ginny, but he quickly removed himself from that situation. He was too drunk at the time and the lady was too aggressive. Or, maybe Harry wasn't the "casual hook-up" type?

Harry shook his head angrily. How could he think about sex at a time like this? How could he think about a soapy Daphne wearing nothing when he was keeping such a big secret from her? When he was going to potentially ruin their relationship in a matter of minutes?

How had his moral compass gone so skewed? Harry prided himself on always doing the right thing. Or, at least, what he thought was right at the time. When did that end? He wished, for a brief moment, that he could ask Hermione what to do. She'd know what to do without question. But, that would be breaking his promise to Robards. And, she'd probably hit him for being such an idiot in the first place.

Harry heard the shower stop and his stomach lurched. 'Well, here it goes,' he thought miserably. Harry stood up from his chair at the table and stretched, though he still felt sore from the previous night spent on the sofa.

Well, on the bright side, at least Harry wouldn't have to lose sleep over this. He had put a great deal of effort into not thinking about his stupid mission and now it was going to be over.

Harry sighed and walked over to Daphne's bedroom door. He knocked and asked if she were dressed enough for him to enter. She said "yes" and Harry slowly entered.

Daphne was in a bathrobe, her hair drenched and those awful bunny slippers that Harry had always hated, on her feet. Harry could see that the bathrobe wasn't as securely tied around her waist as it could've been and he could see a great deal of her chest and stomach. Harry had never wanted anything to loosen itself as badly as he wanted Daphne's robe to.

Harry shook his head again. What the hell was wrong with him?

"Everything okay, Harry?" she asked, curiously. Harry's eyes moved from her chest to her bright blue eyes and felt guilt wash over him.

"Daphne, do you mind sitting down?" Harry asked, gesturing to the bed. Daphne's eyebrows knit together, but she slowly sat down, her eyes never leaving Harry's.

Harry sat down beside her and took a deep breath, preparing himself to lay everything out on the table. But before he could say anything, Daphne was speaking.

"I knew this night was coming. I can't say that I'm not nervous, but I'm more excited than anything. I mean, I've never done this before. But… I've heard stuff, you know? From Pansy and the nurses at St. Mungo's. So, I know the basics. I'm not sure if I'd be good or not, but I'd like to give it a try if you are. I mean, I know you're not a… I know that you've done this before. So, at least one of us is experienced. I'm sorry for rambling. I'm just really nervous and I-,"

Harry blinked dumbly at her. It took a while for Harry to follow what she was saying, but once he understood what she was talking about, he could feel his face redden with each word she said.

"N-no, Daphne. Tha- that's not what I wanted to talk with you about," Harry said, interrupting her. Although, he'd much rather talk about what Daphne was thinking about, he needed to get this out of the way. He couldn't be distracted. Not even by beautiful blondes with too little clothes covering them.

"I have to tell you something," he said firmly, though he felt nervous beyond measure. Daphne waited patiently, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"I… Okay, you know how…. Your sister….," Harry ran a frustrated hand through his hair and groaned. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"Robards… mission… your father…" Harry's brows knit together. Why couldn't he just spit it out?

"What's wrong with my family? Is everyone okay?" Daphne asked, panic lacing her voice. Harry couldn't answer. Harry was too busy panicking over what was going on with his tongue. And he got the sinking suspicion that he wasn't going to be able to answer her. Fucking Robards.

The bastard had literally put a gag order on him. The fucker was magically preventing him from speaking. How the hell did he manage that? When was he close enough to Robards for him to be able to put the curse on him? And how did he not notice?

Harry thought that he might've been under the Imperius curse, but that theory was quickly flattened. Harry had been under the Imperius curse before and fought it. He knew what it felt like to have your mind magically cleared with a strong impulse to do whatever the caster wanted you to. This was not that. Harry wasn't being persuaded to do anything. He was being forced to not do something.

"Harry, you're scaring me. Is everything okay. What happened to Astoria?" Daphne asked, placing her hand on Harry's arm, alarm evident in her voice. Harry looked around, trying to find something…

"Do you have parchment and a quill? Maybe I can write it down!" Harry thought quickly. Daphne stood up and walked towards the clutter on her desk. She grabbed the desired items and handed them over to Harry. He didn't get much farther in writing anything down than he had in speaking it to her. It was like Harry wasn't in control of his hand anymore.

"That fucking piece of shit," Harry cursed loudly. He was pissed. Beyond pissed. How dare Robards put him on a gag? How fucking dare he? What Robards was asking of him was illegal, whether he thought it was for Harry's benefit or his own. And putting Harry on a gag was definitely illegal and was definitely not for Harry's benefit. Did he not trust Harry to keep his promise enough that he had to put a gag order on him? Harry was offended. Robards was right in that assumption, because he was planning on telling Daphne, but still…

"Charades!" Harry shouted, standing up quickly from the bed and startling Daphne.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"It's a muggle game. Where… I act things out. Or, use hand gestures to get you to think of a word or a phrase, more like," Harry explained, his thoughts jumbled because of his frustration.

"Why don't you just tell me what's going on Harry?" Daphne asked angrily.

"I can't," Harry said exasperatedly. "I literally can't."

Harry could tell that Daphne was quickly catching on to what had happened to him. Her face went from angry to impossibly angry.

"Are you on a fucking gag order?!" she asked, standing up. Harry nodded and Daphne started to swear loudly. Harry would've laughed if the situation were different.

"Who did this to you?!" she nearly yelled.

"Robards," he told her. He was surprised at how easy it was to answer that question. "He…" Harry groaned. So, the gag order was definitely still in place.

"Why did he do this to you?" she asked angrily.

"He doesn't trust me," Harry told her, once again, surprised at what he was able to say and what he wasn't able to say.

"Why wouldn't he trust you? He's been working you like a fucking house elf! You're at the DMLE all fucking day and fucking night! You've nearly died countless times rounding up the Death Eaters that the Ministry let slip through their fingers! You took out Voldemort! What more could he possibly want? What more do you have to do to gain his fucking trust? Give him your first born?!" she ranted.

Daphne sat back down on the bed in a huff, her arms crossed angrily over her chest.

Harry couldn't help but be the slightest bit happy that Daphne was so angry on his behalf. He knew that she was thinking of ways to break the curse… or perhaps thinking of a way to get revenge on Robards. He wasn't quite sure. But, seeing Daphne get so upset for him and hearing her curse so much and seeing that robe slip a bit more down her shoulders was doing something to him.

"I wish I could just read your mind," she muttered sulkily. Harry, who had been staring at Daphne's chest again, looked up to Daphne's eyes which were now glued to his.

"Get your waned," he ordered softly. "How good are you at legilimency?" he asked her as she accio'd her wand.

"Not at all. I was planning on learning from Draco, but Theo said that I should learn Occlumency first and when I saw Draco on Sunday, we kind of got distracted by other things," Daphne told him.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. What other things had they gotten up to? And why was Daphne's face reddening and why hadn't she come to him first about learning legilimency? Why did she have to go to Malfoy and Nott?

Harry pushed those thoughts into the back of his head. He didn't have time to worry about those things. It wasn't the time for jealousy. He could deal with that at a later time.

"Okay. Well, we don't have enough time for me to teach you occlumency first. So, we're just going to jump right into legilimency," Harry told her. Daphne looked hesitant but nodded her head slowly.

"It'll be fine," he assured her. "Now, just point your wand at me, say _legilimens_ and concentrate on my thoughts. It will be easier if you look into my eyes," Harry instructed. Daphne nodded her head again and gripped her wand firmly in her hand.

Harry thought clearly of his conversation with Robards, the memory that had been replaying over and over in his head without warning since that morning.

"Legilimens!" Daphne said clearly. Harry could feel Daphne rummaging through his mind. It was obvious that she had never done this before. Harry had laid all of his memories for her to see, not placing a single barrier up against her. She kept jumping from memory to memory, blindly moving through his mind like a Minotaur in a tea shop.

Harry thought about his conversation with Robards again, hoping to show Daphne that specific memory instead of the memory of Harry receiving an old pair of socks from his Uncle Vernon. He could feel Daphne latching on to that memory and he sighed in relief even though he could feel a massive headache coming on.

After what felt like an hour, though must've been only a few moments, Harry pushed Daphne out of his head after she had seen the memory replay a few times. They were both breathing heavily and slightly sweaty. Harry's headache was in full swing and he groaned in pain.

"Do you have any pain potion?" Harry asked her.

"Why would you agree to that?" Daphne asked him, hurt evident in his eyes.

"Because I'm an idiot," he answered without thinking.

"Yes, you are. You are because anyone who wasn't an idiot wouldn't have agreed to such utter bullshit," Daphne said, marching towards her bathroom. Harry knew that this was coming. He knew that she would be pissed. He just didn't know that he'd have to deal with a massive headache while trying to fix things with Daphne.

Daphne walked back into the room, a vial of pain potion in her outstretched hand. Harry took it from her and swallowed it all in one gulp. The pain in his head started to dissipate and he only had to worry about the pissed Daphne standing in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Daphne," Harry apologized. Daphne didn't look impressed. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her face was emotionless.

"I should've never agreed to it. But, at the time, I thought that I was doing the right thing!" he told her, more frustrated with himself than anything else.

"This happened not even two hours after you told me that you loved me," Daphne said softly.

Harry had nothing to say to that. It was true. He had agreed to this almost immediately after confessing his love to Daphne.

"I do love you, Daphne," Harry said, panic holding him firmly in its grasp. He could tell where this conversation was going. She was going to end things with him and he deserved nothing more. He had been an arse and an idiot. But, he selfishly wasn't ready for things to end. He wasn't going to lose her. The thought alone made him sick.

"How can you say that you love me?" Daphne asked him, her voice toneless and emotionless.

"Because it's true!" Harry said firmly. He took a step towards her and she quickly took a step away from him. Harry sighed but wasn't deterred. "Daphne, I love you more than words can say. I didn't know that I could feel this way. I didn't know that I could ever be so happy. You make me feel… like I'm constantly drinking amorentia and felix felicis. I know I hurt you. I know I fucked up, but…"

"But what?" Daphne challenged angrily.

"But… I love you," Harry said flatly. He had lost her. There was no going back now.

"You're not a poet, Harry," Daphne told him, her eyes bearing into his.

"I'd write the best poem in the whole world if it meant that you would forgive me," Harry told her, still hoping against hope that she wasn't going to slip through his fingers.

"I doubt you'd be able to. I've seen your writing and I can only expect for it to be subpar. But, that doesn't mean that I'm not willing to let you try," Daphne said, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Really?!" Harry asked, confused. He got the impression that she was giving him a second chance, but that couldn't be. Maybe Daphne had done more damage in his head than he had originally thought.

"Is that how you're going to start your poem off, Harry?" Daphne asked, shaking her head in disapproval. "Tsk tsk."

Harry smiled down at her before clearing his throat.

"Roses are red. Violets are-,"

"Nope," Daphne said quickly, laughing. "You'll have to do better than that."

Harry thought of another way to start off a poem. Did he know any other poems?

"Luckily for you, Potter, that you'll have plenty of time to think of a better poem. But, make no mistake, I do plan on collecting that best poem in the whole world someday," she told him, taking a step towards Harry.

Harry didn't hesitate to press his lips against hers. He wrapped her in his arms and held her against his chest. His mouth moved against hers and one of his hands was lost in her golden locks while the other held her against him. If Daphne didn't want to be kissed, she gave no sign.

Before things could get too carried away, however, Harry ended the kiss. Daphne's lips were lightly swollen and red and she was breathing deeply. She pressed her lips against Harry's softly and smiled up at him.

"I love you," Harry said again.

Daphne's smile only brightened. "I know. I love you, too. But today wasn't the best and I'm really tired. So, can we go to sleep?" she asked him.

Harry was exhausted too. More exhausted than he had been in a while. He was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained and the thought of Daphne's bed was the most welcome thing he could imagine at the moment. He nodded his head and yawned. He walked to the bag of packed clothes that he brought from Grimmauld Place, and grabbed clothes to sleep in.

After he was showered and in much more comfortable clothing than he had been in earlier, he laid down next to Daphne in her bed. It was so comfortable. It was as if the sofa and the bed were polar opposites. He could feel the tension leaving his body the longer he laid there. The pillows were so soft that the second his head relaxed against one he was dozing off.

"I didn't tell you about Sunday," Daphne whispered. Harry wasn't exactly sure if he had heard her or if this was the beginning of a dream.

"I walked in on Hermione and Draco," she told him, snuggling up to him. Harry turned towards her and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her closer.

"That's nice," he said automatically, not fully registering what Daphne had just confessed to him. He was too busy being delighted by Daphne's desire to cuddle. Sure, they cuddled on the sofa, but that had more to do with lack of space. Daphne's bed was a King sized bed and she still preferred to lay as close to him as possible.

"Wait, what?" Harry asked groggily, finally understanding what Daphne said a few moments ago. "Walked in on them?"

Harry could feel her nodding her head against his shoulder. "Yep," she said, popping the "p". "It was really awkward. Really very awkward."

"I can imagine," Harry said, fighting to stay alert and not give into unconsciousness.

"But… it's got me thinking… about us," Daphne confessed. Now Harry was adamant to stay awake. He wasn't going to miss out on this conversation.

"Yeah?" he asked, feeling his pulse quicken. Daphne was really close to him. And she wasn't wearing much; only a pair of shorts and a tank top. Has her skin always been so soft?

"I know that you're not a virgin. What's it like?" she whispered. Harry gulped before answering.

"I wouldn't know from your perspective. But… it's good."

"Just good?" she asked skeptically.

"Really good. Really fucking good," Harry said lamely.

"Does it bother you that… you're not… that we haven't had sex yet?" Daphne asked him. Harry could feel her eyes on him. He didn't have to open his eyes to see that her attention was completely focused on him.

"No."

"Really?" she asked, unsure.

"Really. I love you, Daphne. I'm not going to lie and say that I don't think about it. Us having sex, I mean. But, I'm not going to pressure you. I can wait for you until you're ready," Harry told her honestly. And boy, did he think about having sex with Daphne often. Sometimes she would just look at him and he would think about her legs wrapped around his waist. She'd kiss him and he'd wonder if everything about her was as sweet as her lips were. She'd win one of their stupid arguments and she'd have that sexy smirk on her face and Harry wanted nothing more than to erase that smirk and replace it with gasps and moans and his name falling from her lips.

"Okay," Daphne whispered, and Harry could tell that she was smiling.

"But, can you never bring up Draco and Hermione having sex before bed again? I already have enough nightmares without adding that to the mix," Harry grimaced. Daphne laughed and kissed his cheek.

"I promise. But, if you would've seen it then you would understand why I've become curious," Daphne defended.

"Ugh. Did seeing Hermione and Draco like that turn you on?" Harry asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. The very thought of it made him sick to his stomach.

"NO! Of course, not," Daphne said a bit too quickly for Harry to believe that she was telling the truth. "It kind of scared me, if I'm being completely honest. It was… disturbing. I'm curious to see if we'll be disturbing too."

"I don't think that there are many things that can be more disturbing than whatever it was that you walked in on," Harry commented. Daphne laughed but she agreed with him.

"Even though I'm going to have to deal with some emotional damage, I'm glad to see that they're together. Even though, I could've done without actually seeing them together, you know? I was getting whiplash from the back and forth, honestly. Are they together or aren't they? It was exhausting," Daphne said softly. Harry wasn't so sure. Daphne trusted Draco and Hermione trusted Draco, but Harry wasn't completely convinced. He knew that Draco wasn't the same bastard that he was while they were in school, but house rivalries and blood supremacy aside, the blonde was still a huge prat.

"Whatever makes her happy," Harry said before yawning.

"Even if having sex with Draco in public places happens to make her happy?" Daphne challenged, fighting a yawn herself.

"Whatever makes her happy except for that. That would be unforgivable."

 **Another chapter in the bag, friends!**

 **Review! The last chapter didn't get as much reviews as my other chapters usually do. So, I'm going to shamelessly beg for more. What did you think of the chapter? What do you think is going to happen in the next chapter when Daphne goes down to the DMLE? What do you think of Harry and Daphne's awkward conversation about them… furthering their relationship? Did you take the Ilvermorny house quiz?! Where were you sorted? REVIEW!**

 **Thank you to those that have followed and favorited NQSB. As I type this, this story has 769 follows and 450 favorites. I challenge those who have followed to leave a review and say what their favorite part has been so far. (Shamelessly begging)**

 **Thanks x**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I only own a scooter that is now sitting in my house because we had a hurricane warning nearly a month ago and I haven't taken it back outside yet. By the way, does anyone want a shitty scooter?**

 **Hello, All! I'm sorry that I've been gone for a while. I blame life. Life is getting hectic. I lost the will to write for a while and I couldn't find it in me to sit behind my computer and put anything down. However, I'm back. Thanks in large part to my boyfriend who is now reading the story. He will never forgive me if I leave him with a cliffhanger. Also, this past weekend, I went to Diagon Alley at Universal Studios and had the most amazing time. The spark was ignited and I couldn't stop myself. I must warn you that I'm a bit rusty so this chapter might be difficult to read through. But, bear with me.**

 **Also, if you're keeping track, my sister and I are still reading together. We are on the LAST chapter of Order of the Phoenix. She was so upset after the death of Sirius Black that we didn't even really hold discussion after. Sirius Black was one of her favorite characters. Other favorites of hers are Lupin, Tonks, and the twins. Merlin help me. Her absolute favorite is Ron Weasley (and don't even try to argue with her about him because she can't be moved) and luckily she won't have to deal with that loss.**

 **I would like to give a special shout out to those who took the time to review: The Amazing Grayson, CCBottle, Marksbay, Lordban, Keiron20, ExcessiveDonkey, Blaze Stone, Opaque-Cavalier, Lord Silindel, Kagemaru Raiden, Erika Neubert, Xavras, RAfan2421, Sowing Season, Vi38, ShadouRyu-kun, Uzugaki, Wewee, kddr1122, Tangyman, fuzzy6, trispectrum, dmt6492, darkFox920, GraphiicChaos, anakulosmos16, barbaroja, Dogco94, I am Aus (Go fuck yourself), Baron Von Anarchy IV, XxDragon King DragneelxX, hunzbookwyrm. I really appreciate all of the reviews and I'm so happy that most of them were positive. Thank you thank you thank you!**

"Are you ready to get this over with?" Harry asked his girlfriend. They stood in the middle of Daphne's living room, Harry in his auror robes and Daphne in her healer's robes. They both hoped that this ordeal wouldn't take too long and that Daphne would be able to return to work after her interrogation. Although, from the little that Harry knew about Astoria's stay in the holding cells in the office, he knew that those hopes might be dashed.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Daphne told him with her head held high. It wasn't until Harry gripped her hand in his that he realized how nervous she was. Her hands were damp with sweat and clammy. Harry gripped her hand a bit tighter in reassurance and Daphne gave him a small smile.

He wished that they didn't have to do this. He wished that Robards would've just trusted his word that Daphne wasn't involved in whatever mess her father was up to. He wished that he would've been open and honest with Daphne from the very beginning.

"If I decided to run for the continent, would you come after me?" Daphne asked him. Harry couldn't tell if she was joking or not, but he laughed anyway.

"Yes. But only because I wouldn't want someone else to get to you first."

"I don't know if you'd be able to catch me, Potter. I'm pretty fast," Daphne said, a small smile still on her face.

"Not fast enough," Harry said quietly before pulling her into a kiss.

He could feel the familiar yet uncomfortable pull of apparation and didn't release his hold on Daphne until his feet hit the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Apparation, although better than portkey and walking in Harry's opinion, was still unpleasant. It was even moreso when it happened without being forewarned.

"Give a bloke a warning," Harry complained, as his vision cleared after being in the void for only a split second.

"I just want to get this over with, Harry. And if I left it up to you, we'd still be standing in my living room. Me, contemplating a life in Argentina and you staring at me as if I'd crumple into dust before your eyes," Daphne explained before walking towards the security desk to get her wand checked in.

Harry followed behind her and tried his best to ignore the leering glances that the security wizard gave Daphne. He had bigger problems to deal with and resolve. When the security wizard handed Daphne her wand back, he held on for a moment too long and Daphne had to yank it out of his hand.

As they were walking towards the lift, Harry heard Daphne take a deep breath. "I don't know who he is, but I really hate that security wizard," she confessed quietly.

"He's not on my list of favorite people either," Harry agreed. Harry had done his best to not be possessive of Daphne. It was a known fact at that point that the two were together. He didn't need to put on some grand act to prove the point. However, after the Clames incident, it was becoming more and more difficult to reign that part of himself in. Where was the line between protective and possessive?

The lift arrived and Harry and Daphne scurried in before a crowd of people pushed and shoved their way inside. He and Daphne were pushed into a corner and he could only hope that nobody in the lift would notice that they were there until they were on level 2.

"Level 2," the feminine voice in the lift said over the chatter. Harry grabbed Daphne's hand tightly in his and pulled her towards the exit.

"How can you handle that every morning?" Daphne asked him, straightening her robes after exiting the lift. "I nearly elbowed an elderly woman a few seconds ago!"

"Oh? Yeah. That's Madame Niles. She can be a bit handsy, so you might have no other choice the next time you see her. Although she prefers red heads. Ron barely escaped the last time they were on the lift together. She's a cheek pincher," Harry explained. Harry didn't say which cheeks she liked to pinch and he could see the question burning on her tongue.

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind if I ever decide to charm my hair a different color," Daphne told him.

Harry raised an eyebrow. He couldn't imagine Daphne without her blonde locks. And he didn't even WANT to think about her with red hair. There were quite enough redheads in his life, thank you very much.

"You're thinking about dying your hair?" Harry asked her. Daphne shrugged.

"I have to think about taking on a different look if I ever decide to make a run for it," Daphne teased. Harry rolled his eyes. They were at the wrong place to be making such jokes. And even if she wasn't joking, standing in the DMLE wasn't the place to confess such ideas.

"Oh, take that look off of your face, Potter. I'm only kidding," Daphne teased further, elbowing him in the side lightly.

"I know, Daphne, but-,"

"You're worried. I know. I am too. But I have nothing to hide. If they want to rummage around in my head looking for any evidence that I have contact with my father, they'll only get glimpses of him giving me a pat on the back in my youth after I did something he deemed acceptable. I'm an open book."

Harry gave her a small smile and leaned down to kiss her.

"Too bad I'm Magick Moste Evile," Daphne commented before Harry pressed his lips to hers.

Harry groaned in annoyance. "I'm thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so awful if you were detained for a few days."

Daphne rolled her eyes and laughed. "You'd be beside yourself with grief if they keep me longer than a few hours and you know it." She pushed herself on her toes and pressed her lips to Harry's and he realized how true her words were. Merlin, he hoped that this wouldn't take all day.

"Hey, Harry! Oh-,"

Daphne pulled away from Harry and he nearly groaned in annoyance again. Couldn't he just stand there and kiss his girlfriend for a few seconds longer without being interrupted? Daphne smiled at him and winked, a promise for more later and Harry couldn't help the thoughts that rushed through his mind in that split second.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Ron said, a nervous laugh masking his words. "You here to fill out the paperwork against that tosser, Clames?" Ron asked Daphne.

"That, amongst other things," Daphne muttered. Ron raised an eyebrow at her before turning his attention to Harry.

"It's… it's bullshit," Harry explained as best as he could. He hoped that Ron wouldn't ask any further questions because he was still gagged. He hoped that Ron would just take what Harry gave him and leave it alone.

"Is everything alright?" Ron asked, worry evident on his face. "Did someone else attack her?"

"No, it's not that! It's complicated and I can't-,"

"I can tell you later if you want," Daphne interrupted him. "He's really not in a place to speak as freely as I am." Ron shot Harry another questioning look but didn't ask anything else.

Daphne led the way towards the double oak doors at the end of the hallway and pushed them open. Harry had never been so uncomfortable to see all of the cubicles in the large room, but he hoped that everyone was either too busy to notice their arrival or hadn't arrived yet.

"Are you sure that everything is okay?" Ron asked Harry once more. Harry didn't like keeping things away from Ron. He knew that if the roles were reversed, he'd be just as worried about Ron. He'd pester him until he eventually cracked, which, wouldn't be too difficult to get Ron to do.

"I'm not sure of anything right now. Can you come over later on this evening? I'll explain what I can then," Harry whispered to him. Ron nodded his head before letting a slow smile spread across his face.

"Still staying at Daphne's place?" he asked, his smile turning into a teasing grin right before Harry's eyes.

"Shut up," Harry told him before grabbing Daphne's hand and walking towards Robards' office.

"Well, how am I supposed to 'come over' when I don't even know where 'over' is!" Ron called after them. Harry ignored him and knocked on Robards' office door harder than he meant to.

"It's open!" he called from the other side.

Harry gave a quick look to Daphne. This was her last chance to run. Harry thought about Daphne running away and couldn't imagine her leaving without him following right behind her. It wasn't fair that she should come into his life, make him incredibly happy and then leave. Hadn't he suffered enough?

Daphne gave him a determined look and nodded her head once in reassurance. Harry gave her a small smile and pushed the door open. There was no going back.

Robards was scribbling on some parchment. If he noticed that it was Harry in his office he didn't let on that he did.

"State your business," he said, without looking up from his parchment.

"I've been told that you wanted to speak with me, sir," Daphne said loudly and clearly. At that, Robards lifted his eyes quickly and stared at Daphne. He gave a quick glance to Harry before turning his attention back to Daphne.

"Yes, Ms. Greengrass. Well, I wasn't under the impression that you'd actually have to come into the office," Robards said. Harry knew that he meant it to sound apologetic, but it came out more accusatory than anything else. Robards' eyes narrowed at Daphne, but she didn't seem to be affected.

"I thought that coming in would be best, Auror Robards. I wouldn't want any special treatment. Besides, I needed to come into the office to fulfill a different obligation today. I figured that I might as well kill two birds with one stone," Daphne said, looking at her nails as if she couldn't be bothered to look at the Head of the Auror department. As if whatever color was on her nails was more fascinating than whatever else could be going on around her.

"Miss Greengrass, you are in a high profile relationship with one of our brightest Aurors, I thought that it would best if this matter were handled more privately," Robards said, his eyes shifting back and forth between Harry and Daphne. Harry couldn't tell if he was going to be in deep shit with his boss after this whole ordeal was over, but he knew that he was going to be okay with Daphne and that's what mattered most to him at that point.

"I thank you for your consideration, Auror Robards. However, your concern is not necessary. I'm here. So, I'd like to get this interrogation over with as fast as possible. I have work after this at St. Mungo's and I'd hate to miss an entire day's work," Daphne said sternly, her head held high. Harry could read between the lines. Daphne spoke in subtext and her conversation with Robards was laced with it. So, when she said, "thank you for your consideration" what she was actually saying was "what kind of department are you running here?" Harry kept his eyes trained on Robards, looking for any hint or inclination that he was hearing the subtext as clearly as Harry was.

"Well, we wouldn't want you to be longer than necessary," Robards said, his voice a bit tense. Yes, Harry was convinced that he was hearing the subtext.

Robards stood up from his desk and smoothed his Auror robes. He stretched his arm out and gestured to his office door. "Miss Greengrass, allow me to escort you to the interrogation rooms." Daphne nodded once and exited the room, Robards closely behind her. Harry made to follow the pair of them, but Robards stopped him. "I'm sorry Potter. Don't you have some paperwork to catch up on?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

Harry gave a quick glance to Daphne who looked concerned. Harry should've expected that he wouldn't be allowed in the interrogation rooms with her. Even if Robards wasn't pissed off at him, he was much too close to Daphne to be impartial. He probably wouldn't have been allowed in Theo Nott's interrogation if Robards knew that he and Daphne were friends.

Harry nodded and walked over to his desk, turning to look at Daphne's worried expression with every step he took. He hoped that whoever was summoned to be in the interrogation room wouldn't make Daphne too nervous. He hoped that they could be professional and knew how to handle an interrogation.

"Mercury!" Robards yelled. Harry cursed heavily under his breath. Anyone but him! Fucking hell, not Mercury. The man could barely handle a routine arrest. He had bungled up quite a few arrests in his few months here. Why would Robards call on him?

Mercury jumped up from his desk which was a few rows away from Harry's and followed Robards and Daphne down the hall. Harry was so focused on staring in horror at the disappearing backs of Daphne, Robards, and Mercury that he barely noticed Montgomery and Gabe walk past his desk. The smirk that Gabe gave him, made Harry see red. Gabe and Mercuryi n the same room as Daphne? Gabe was a prick and Mercury was incompetent.

"Harry!" Harry looked up, finally breaking eye contact with Gabe, and saw Neville looking down at him. "Do you mind proofreading this for me? Or, at least telling me if you can read it? I'm not worried so much about the context as I am about my handwriting. I kind've rushed through it and I don't want to have to re-do the whole thing."

Neville handed the packet of papers to Harry. Harry gave one last look to Gabe, hoping to light the man on fire with just his eyes, before looking at the papers that Neville had nearly forced in his hands. Harry looked down at the papers and adjusted the glasses on his face. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Your handwriting is fine, Neville. Better than mine. I don't know why you had to come to me to make sure. It's even better than Hermione's!" Neville shrugged and smiled.

"Just wanted to be sure. Well, since you've been thoroughly distracted long enough for them to go into the interrogation rooms, I guess I can go ahead and turn this in, then." Neville grabbed the papers out of Harry's hand and Harry's jaw dropped slightly. He whipped his head around to see that Daphne, Robards, Mercury, Gabe and Montgomery were gone. He turned his attention back to Neville who smiled brightly at him. Harry only glared.

"Don't give me that look, Harry. I was only trying to help. You looked like you were seconds from getting up and decking Gabe in the face. That definitely wouldn't help Daphne." Harry crossed his arms over his chest. He supposed that Neville was right. He didn't want to make things worse for Daphne. That interrogation was probably going to be a clusterfuck of intimidation on Gabe's part and Mercury's blabbering. He could only hope that Montgomery would be able to keep everyone in check.

"I was the Auror chosen for Tori's interrogation," Neville said, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It wasn't so bad. I'm sure Daphne will be fine."

"Tori?" Harry questioned, an eyebrow raised at Neville. Neville realized the mistake that he had made and quickly tried to backtrack.

"Astoria. I meant Astoria. She's the one who told me to call her Tori! But, I never do. Because I never see her. I mean, I saw her walking around once after. But like, I haven't seen her you know. Not that I don't want to! I mean, I don't want to. I mean, if she wanted to see me that would be okay. I wouldn't actively go looking for her. Not that there's anything wrong with her. She's actually really nice and clever."

Harry let a small smile on his face. A flustered Neville was definitely one of the better ways to be distracted. Neville continued to talk, his face becoming redder by the second.

"Can I please stop talking now, Harry?" Neville asked, his face now Gryffindor Red. Harry nodded, a smile still on his face. Neville nodded once and turned away quickly, nearly running back to his own desk.

Harry sighed and grabbed one of his quills. He did have a ton of paperwork to catch up on. It never seemed to end. It seemed like he spent more time indoors handling paperwork than he did outside catching dark witches and wizards. Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up. He could already feel a headache coming on.

Harry chanced a look down the hallway and saw nothing. What he would give to have an Extendable Ear right now. Or perhaps to be a fly on the wall. Harry shook the thought out of his head and turned his attention back to the mountain of paperwork that he had accumulated. He groaned, readied his quill and started.

-x-

"Oi, Harry. Daphne still here?" Ron asked, walking towards Harry's desk. Harry took his glasses off of his face and rubbed his sore eyes. He knew that he had probably been staring at the same parchment for the past 15 minutes. To say that he was distracted was an understatement.

"Yeah," Harry said quietly before stretching. Ron stared down the hallway where the interrogation rooms were, and let out a low whistle.

"They've been in there for hours," he commented. Harry knew that. He didn't need to be reminded. He forced himself to not stare at the long hallway, hoping against hope that he would see a flash of blonde hair. That didn't mean that his ears weren't trained for any sounds coming from that direction.

"Do you want to get lunch? Get your mind off of things?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head. He didn't want to leave the office while Daphne was still here. He wanted to greet her the minute she walked down the hallway. With his luck, the second he walked out of the Ministry, she'd come waltzing out of the interrogation. Harry couldn't take that chance.

"I didn't mean to make that sound like a question. You're coming to lunch, Harry. Most likely, Daphne's going to be in there for a few more hours. Her sister was here for a few days." Harry ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He didn't even want to think of the possibility of her being there overnight.

"Come on, Harry. My treat. Just, you've got to get out of this office. We can go to that neat sandwich shop that just opened up. You know they let you put as many sauces as you want? How fucking great is that?"

Harry reluctantly stood up. He knew that Ron was right. He hadn't had anything to eat all day. He hadn't even noticed that he was starving until Ron brought up the sandwich shop. He felt a bit guilty for leaving, but he knew that he was going to drive himself crazy trying not to think about Daphne while she was only a hallway away.

Ron patted him on the shoulder and led him towards the exit. Harry gave one last look down the too long hallway and grimaced at its emptiness.

When the lift doors opened, Ron let out a groan. Madame Niles was standing front and center, a bright smile on her face. Harry nearly laughed but schooled his features into a stoic face. Ron shot him a glare before stepping into the lift, trying his best to put as much space between Madame Niles and himself as possible in the cramped space. Harry rolled his eyes and stepped in, not worried in the slightest about Madame Niles' sneaky fingers. There were more pressing matters for Harry to be concerned about.

As they exited the lift, Ron yelped in pain and Harry turned around to see Madame Niles wink at his friend. Harry let out a chuckle and Ron glared. "Not fucking funny, Potter. You wouldn't like it if she pinched your bum every time she saw you. That woman needs to learn some self-restraint. That's illegal, you know."

"Why don't you arrest her?" Harry asked him as they walked towards the sandwich shop that was a few blocks away.

"I'm not going to arrest a little old lady! Not for pinching my bum, anyway. I can't blame her if I'm being honest. I'm pretty irresistible. Speaking of irresistible, did I tell you that I saw Lavender the other day?" Harry raised an eyebrow at him. Why would he be talking to Lavender Brown? I thought that that was over and done with years ago.

"How did the word "irresistible" remind you of Lavender Brown?" Harry asked. He was never a fan of Lavender. The love triangle between Ron, Lavender and Hermione aside, the girl was annoying. But, then again, was it really fair of him to judge her? How many people had entered his life since he left Hogwarts that he wouldn't have even dared speaking to while attending school? It was obvious to him that people could change. Maybe Lavender had changed as well.

"I don't know, mate. She's like… I mean, what other word could I use to describe her. I don't really like her. I mean, she's alright. But, I don't REALLY like her, you know? I don't think she likes me either. But, we just keep going back to each other. Like moths to flames."

"You really have a way with words, Ron," Harry commented laughing.

"I'm thinking about writing some of this shit down and turning all of my lovely words into a romance novel. Make millions of galleons. Retire and never have to work another day in my life," Ron said, an easy smile on his face.

"You can't do that, Ron. You're the reason that Madame Niles gets up in the morning. If you retire, what motivation will she have to keep coming in to the ministry?" Harry asked thoughtfully.

"See, I know that you think you're funny, but you're really not," Ron grumbled. Harry laughed which only made Ron's eyes narrow at him.

"I'm sorry. I'm taking this seriously. I promise. So, tell me about Lavender. How is that going?" Harry asked, effectively getting back on topic. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from laughing at Ron and Madame Niles and then Ron would never get the wrinkles out of his forehead.

"It's not really "going" anywhere. We just meet up to fuck and that's it," Ron explained lazily.

"That's it?" Harry asked in disbelief. Ron shrugged.

"After Hermione, I'm not really in the mood for anything long-term or serious or anything like that. And Lav, she understands. It's not complicated. We just use each other to-,"

"Scratch your itches?" Harry supplied helpfully. Ron laughed and nodded.

"Yes. Exactly."

"But does she know that you're not looking for anything serious? Does she know that you're only interested in a physical relationship?" Harry asked, as he opened the door to the sandwich shop.

"Yeah. I mean, I didn't TELL her that, but I'm sure that she knows. How could she not know? We never go out or anything. She comes over and we fuck. Or, I go to her place and we fuck. There's really nothing more to it than that," Ron said, completely sure of himself. Harry shook his head in disbelief. That sounded like a recipe for disaster.

The last time that Harry and Ron had talked about Lavender Brown, Ron was explaining to him that the main reason why he was attracted to Lavender in school was because she was willing to do things with him that other girls wouldn't. This situation gave Harry a nasty sense of deja vu.

"I think you should tell her that you're not looking for anything serious, Ron," Harry offered. "Just to be on the safe side."

Ron shrugged and Harry could only hope that that meant that Ron was listening to him. Ron could be so incredibly thick sometimes and it got him into some serious trouble.

"When did you become such an expert on relationships?" Ron asked as they moved up in the line.

"I'm not an expert. I'm just not an idiot," Harry teased.

"Oi!"

"Believe me," Harry continued, ignoring Ron's protest, "I have no fucking clue what I'm doing. I almost buggered things up with Daphne last night."

"Does that have anything to do with why she's in the office today?" Harry nodded and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, I hope that whatever this is all about gets resolved soon. I wish you would tell me what all of this shit was about. Then maybe I could help."

"I can't tell you, Ron," Harry said tiredly. The thought of even talking about it with Ron exhausted him. Having Daphne rummage around through his head last night was bad enough. He knew how bad Ron was at legilimency, and even though he's had much more practice than Daphne, he'd still rather not have Ron in his head.

Ron's shoulders slumped and there was a small frown on his face. "If I could tell you then I would, Ron. I just can't," Harry told him, hoping that Ron could pick up on what he was hinting.

Ron sighed. "I guess I'll just have to wait for Daphne to tell me then. She shouldn't be much longer." Harry knew that Ron would have no idea how long Daphne was going to be in the interrogation room and was only saying that to make Harry feel better.

"Hello! May I take your order?" the lady behind the counter asked, a bright smile on her face. Harry couldn't muster a smile to return to her, so instead a grimace was plastered to his face.

"Hello. I'll have a turkey sandwich with lettuce, mustard, pickles, and tomatoes. And I'll have a ham with only pickles. But a lot of pickles. Like, way too many pickles for the average person to eat," Harry ordered, politely. The lady behind the counter nodded and placed the order. Harry paid for the two sandwiches and stepped off to the side, awaiting his food. He figured that when Daphne was finally released from her interrogation, then she'd be starving. So, it was best to get her a nasty pickle infested sandwich and let her enjoy it. Seriously, what was the point of even eating a sandwich if she was just going to ruin it by putting so many pickles?

After Ron ordered his monstrous order, he stood next to Harry to wait for his food. They stood in silence, Harry's thoughts consumed with Daphne. What if they kept her for days? They've kept possible Death Eaters in interrogations for weeks before. Would Daphne be in danger of losing her job? Should Harry go to St. Mungo's and tell Healer Alvarez about Daphne's situation. He knew that Daphne wasn't under Healer Alvarez anymore, but she was still the head of the Healers-In-Training. But, the little that Harry did know about Healer Alvarez, she didn't seem to be very understanding.

"So, did you hear about Dean and Seamus?" Ron asked Harry. Harry turned his attention back to his redhead friend and shook his head.

"They're finally official. Lavender told me that they were seen at the Hog's Head holding hands. I'm actually surprised that it took so long for them to go public."

"You're not with Lavender for sex. You're with her because she facilitates your thirst for gossip," Harry commented dryly.

"I did say the word "irresistible" didn't I?" Ron said smiling at Harry. He had, once again, distracted Harry from his worries about Daphne.

 **Thank you for reading! I hope that you haven't abandoned the story, because I haven't.**

 **I've noticed that a lot of writers have their own tumblr pages… So, I made one. I think. I have no idea how tumblr works. Please feel free to follow me danceswithnorhythm. I'll follow back or whatever. But, please be aware that I have no idea what I'm doing with it. I'm still learning. If you want to ask me any questions about the story or anything, feel free to do so!**

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 **But, on another note… I've been on pottermore recently and took a few quizzes. So, I'm a Gryffindor now (not really. I'm still claiming Slytherin because I'm obviously a Slytherin. There's no denying it), my patronus is a ragdoll cat, I'm in Thunderbird, and my wand is redwood and phoenix feather. What's yours? Tell me! I'm really interested! Almost obsessively interested.**

 **Also, if you haven't you should check out my other story, New and "Improved"**

 **Thanks x**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello, All! Welcome back!**

 **I'm going to keep this Author's Note short. I don't own Harry Potter. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Special thank yous to those who have reviewed. I promise that I'm going to personally thank you for taking the time to review. I've just been so… ugh!**

"Are you comfortable, Miss Greengrass?" asked one of the Aurors. The lighting in the room was harsh and hurt her eyes and the chair she sat in had to be the most uncomfortable chair in all of England. Daphne didn't know what she expected to have to endure during her visit to the Auror's office, but she supposed that she should've expected to be treated like a criminal. After all, isn't that what they thought she was?

The Auror was older and burly with a rather unfriendly look about him. Daphne wondered if he would have a more welcoming demeanor if they would've met under different circumstances. She supposed that the man must've left his mother's womb with a grimace on his face. He had that kind of air about him.

Realizing that the unfriendly Auror was still waiting for Daphne to respond to his question, Daphne answered. "Yes, thank you."

"Already lying, then?" he asked, his frown deepening. Daphne cursed herself. Was this some sort of game? Was she not playing well enough? How was she supposed to win this game of wits without any practice?

"I was only being polite, Auror-?"

"Call me Gabe," the man said, not a suggestion but a command. Daphne yearned to take a deep calming breath, but didn't want to seem unnerved. Although, she had the feeling that she looked the part.

"Miss Greengrass, we hope to make this quick. So, if you'll be completely honest, we can get you out of here and have you on your way as soon as possible," the female Auror said sternly, although she came off as much nicer than her male counterpart. Daphne nodded at her and maintained eye-contact. She had nothing to hide.

"Have you had any contact with your father in the past 3 months?" the female Auror asked. Daphne shook her head quickly. She hadn't spoken to her father in quite some time. He hadn't reached out to her and she hadn't searched him out either. The world was a better place for it.

"When was the last time that you saw him?" Head Auror Robards asked from his place in the corner. His eyes were narrowed and his arms were crossed over his chest. She could tell that the man hadn't been sleeping well. She hoped that his lack of rest wouldn't cause him to be irritable towards her.

"I haven't seen my father since I told him that I was accepted into the Healer's program at St. Mungo's," Daphne said truthfully. Memories of her father's joyless laughter filled her head. The last time that Daphne saw her father left a lot to be desired. Though she shouldn't have been (and wasn't if she were being honest with herself) surprised by her father's reaction, it still hurt that he wasn't proud of her.

' _You truly think yourself smart enough to be a Healer? Merlin help the people at St. Mungo's; haven't they suffered enough? You'll be too old before long. You need to find a suitable husband now. Such potential you had. Could've married a Nott if you hadn't been so proud. A jagged rock disguised as a jewel.'_

Daphne shook her head to clear it of that awful memory. She had successfully repressed it enough to where she nearly forgot that it had happened. Her mother, the same woman that dared to approach her on the streets, stood in their foyer and watched with an expressionless face. Of course she wouldn't speak up to her daughter's defense. The woman was too lost in her own hell to extract Daphne from hers.

"She's telling the truth," the female Auror spoke strongly.

"Not so fast, Montgomery. Her records show that she was placed in Slytherin. Surely she must've picked up Occlumency during her time at Hogwarts," Gabe sneered, looking down at Daphne as if she were scum. "Might I suggest veritaserum, sir?" Gabe directed his question to Robards who nodded his head slowly.

"Mercury, do you mind retrieving the veritaserum for Miss Greengrass?" Robards asked the young Auror who had been taking notes the whole time. It took a few moments for Mercury to register that he was being spoken to before he jumped up and stumbled out of the room.

Daphne looked around the room and saw that there was no clock on the walls. She groaned. She felt like she had been there for hours, but she knew that it had only been minutes. She wondered if Healer Gupta would be back on the Thickney ward that day and hoped that he wasn't. Although she was initially afraid of the ward and its incurable patients, she couldn't help but obsess over the ailments and the injuries that filled the rooms.

"Your father is in quite some trouble, Miss Greengrass," Gabe teased, his mouth a firm line but his eyes alight with joy.

Daphne didn't know how to respond. She loved her father. But she loved her father like one loves a celebrity whom they've never met before. If they died, you'd be upset and you might even cry. But then you'd put away the handkerchief and go on about your day shortly thereafter. Daphne's relationship with her father wasn't as strong as others, or so she suspected. But she hoped that he was alive and well, so long as he was breathing and healthy as far away from her as was possible.

If the Auror Department were planning on punishing her for her father's crimes, she would have many a problem with that. She didn't love her father nearly enough to give her life for his. If he were up to any shenanigans, she would only hope that he paid for them himself. Especially if he were getting involved with Voldemort rhetoric. She wanted no parts of it.

"What is your father's opinion on blood purity?" Montgomery asked her. Daphne had to refrain from rolling her eyes. She mentally cursed Hermione for the bad habit. Rolling her eyes wouldn't be doing her any favors at the moment.

She knew that the Aurors knew her father's stance on blood purity. They wouldn't bother asking her any serious questions without the use of the veritaserum that the young Auror still hadn't returned with. She was sure that many people in Wizarding Britain knew her father's opinion on blood purity.

"My father's opinion on blood purity is antiquated and in no way reflects mine," Daphne said coolly. Her best friend was Hermione Granger for Merlin's sake. That should've exempted her from any and all interrogations.

"What do you mean "antiquated"? Gabe pressed. Daphne wondered if the Auror knew what "antiquated" meant or if he was asking her why she chose that particular word. From her short time with him, she didn't think that he was dumb. She knew that the man wasn't friendly by any means; but stupid he was not.

"I mean that it is not in vogue to be a blood purist. Those thoughts and ideals are very much not those of the newer generation. If someone feels that they are more valuable or more important than another simply based off of magical lineage, it would be in their best interest to keep that to themselves. Otherwise, the world would know of their willful ignorance and NOTHING is worse than willful ignorance.

"NOTHING is worse than willful ignorance?" Gabe scoffed. "Not even having a genocidal maniac at the head of a government?"

"Which was allowed because of willful ignorance!" Daphne argued. "Voldemort-" Gabe and Montgomery all visibly flinched and Daphne had to roll her eyes at that. For the love of Merlin, the man was dead and gone for good this time. Did they expect for him to pop up? "-received all of his power, both magical and monetary, from his followers. From prejudiced and discriminatory individuals who were in a position of wealth and power that were in need of a leader that they felt couldn't and wouldn't be opposed even if their positions were ill-formed and and lacked any proper research. Muggleborns don't STEAL magic. If there had even been the slightest amount of funding given towards-,"

"Ms. Greengrass, I think that you've proved your point," Robards said. What point did she prove? Did she prove that she had no idea what dealings her father was handling and was completely innocent? Did she prove that she wasn't a blood purist? Did she prove that willful ignorance was the worst curse to have?

Mercury walked into the interrogation at that moment and held up the vial of veritaserum. Daphne couldn't help but wonder why they were still using veritaserum as a means of interrogation? If someone were a good enough occlumens then the veritaserum would be completely useless on them. Daphne wasn't an occlumens at all, but still. Perhaps that explained why so many Death Eaters had avoided jail time.

"This isn't just veritaserum," Montgomery explained, grabbing the vial from Mercury and uncorking it. "Think of it as a heavy-duty veritaserum."

Gabe looked rather annoyed at Montgomery. Daphne could only assume that he didn't want her to know what she was going to be ingesting. That had to be illegal, right? You can't just force something down someone's throat without telling them what it was.

What did Montgomery mean by "heavy-duty" veritaserum, anyway? Daphne had never even had "light-duty" veritaserum. What was she supposed to expect? Would it give her a headache? She knew what veritaserum was used for, but she had never been on the receiving end. She had witnessed veritaserum once before during her hellish year at Hogwarts, and it didn't look like something that she would willingly want to be a part of. However, she wasn't sure that she had a choice. Besides, if she made a big fuss about it, it would probably make her look suspicious.

Montgomery walked towards her with the vial in her hand. Daphne reached out her own hand to grasp the vial from her, but Montgomery held it out of her reach.

"I apologize, Ms. Greengrass, but I'll have to administer the veritaserum with my own hand," she explained. Daphne nodded her head in understanding, although it felt awkward to have someone else pour the liquid into her mouth. It was thicker than she expected it would be. It coated her throat and Daphne felt as if she might choke.

Wouldn't that be a laugh? For Daphne to die during an interrogation? That sounded like something that would definitely happen to her.

"How are you feeling, Daphne?" Robards asked her softly.

Before she could stop herself, her mouth was opening and spouting her thoughts. "I'm feeling hungry. I wasn't able to eat earlier this morning because my stomach was in knots. But, I feel like if I had food right now, I'd throw it up. And that would be awful, because my Healer's robes are clean right now. I usually don't get vomit on them until later on in the afternoon. Earlier if I'm doing rounds in the pediatric ward. But, the pediatric ward is worth it, with those cute faces staring up at you. They're so innocent and you just want to give them all of your magic and strength to make them better. The kids are actually a lot easier to deal with than their parents. I understand that they want the best for their kids. But sometimes, they get in the way with their hovering and it can really hurt or sometimes endanger the child. How am I supposed to heal a sick child with their mother in my face asking me a million and one questions. Just let me do my job first, you know what I mean? My parents wouldn't have been nearly as invasive. They'd have to CARE enough about me to ask any kind of questions. But, you know who asks a lot of questions. Hermione! Once I told her that her hair was so big from all of her unasked questions, and she had to ask a certain amount daily or else she'd be eaten alive by it. Draco laughed but she didn't. And I'm now aware that I've been rambling and can't stop myself. Is this how it's supposed to work?"

Daphne was aware that the Aurors were talking amongst themselves, but she couldn't hear them over her own voice. Robards seemed confused as he stared at Daphne and she hoped that he would gag her to stop her from saying too much.

"For the love of Merlin! Use your wand to stop me from telling you about my crippling fear of the dark. I had to sleep with a small flame until I was 13 and I'm very embarrassed about it and spouting it to Harry's boss would be the absolute worst thing that could happen to me. Almost as bad as talking to you about my sex life! Which is non-existent at this point. Not that I don't want anything to happen. I'm just really nervous because-,"

Robards pointed his wand at Daphne and fired a silencing spell at her that was so strong that it knocked her off of her uncomfortable chair. Daphne was thankful for the spell even though she hit her head upon landing and could see stars before her eyes.

She didn't recall veritaserum ever doing this to the unfortunate student that was subjected to it during her 7th year at Hogwarts. The ingester was forced to tell the truth. It was nothing like the word vomit that spouted from Daphne's mouth only moments ago. Daphne breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't exposed too many of her personal thoughts. The next breath was a sob for the thoughts that she had been forced to share with people that she knew next to nothing about.

Montgomery helped Daphne off of the floor and Daphne sat down in the uncomfortable chair again. Daphne wanted to make eye contact with the aurors in the room; any of them really. If only to prove to them that she wasn't bothered by the previous ordeal. However, she couldn't move her eyes and her gaze from the floor.

"What the fuck was that?!" Robards shouted angrily. She didn't know! Daphne wasn't sure whether he wanted her to explain her stream of thought or if he wanted her to explain why she hadn't really said anything about her father. It didn't matter what answer Robards was looking for, because Daphne opened her mouth and tried to answer the best that she could. It didn't matter that words weren't coming out, her mouth still moved as if she were talking.

"I don't know! I grabbed the vial that read veritaserum!" Daphne heard Mercury answer quickly. Daphne chanced a look up to see the angry glare that Robards was giving Mercury. So the question wasn't directed at her. However, that didn't stop her from mouthing a reply.

"Well, who the fuck was on schedule to brew the latest batch of veritaserum?" Robards asked all three aurors in the room. Gabe shrugged his shoulders, and Montgomery answered that she wasn't sure. Slowly, Mercury lifted his hand into the air.

Robards lifted an eyebrow at Mercury who looked ashamed and scared. "It was my turn, sir," he peeped out.

Robards looked like he wanted to strangle the young Auror. His face was red and his grip on his wand tightened. He took a deep breath to calm himself and sheathed his wand in the holster on his hip.

"Mercury," Robards began, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Did you use 50 eyewig ears or 50 earwig eyes?"

"I… what?" Mercury asked, unsure.

"Did you use-?"

"I wasn't aware that there was a difference," Mercury mumbled. Montgomery shook her head in disbelief and Gabe let out a whoop of laughter.

"See, Head Auror Robards? This is what happens when the Ministry cuts funding. We have to depend on wizards that barely made it into the Auror department to make important potions," Gabe said in between laughs.

Robards shot a glare at Gabe and he had to take another calming breath. "That is out of my control and a conversation for a later time."

"What are we going to do about Miss Greengrass?" Montgomery asked, giving a pitying look to Daphne. Daphne hadn't even realized that she was still moving her lips. She knew that she wanted to leave, but there was no way that she was going to be able to go out and about with verbal shit pouring from her mouth. How would she be able to function?

"Gabe! You were excellent at potions while you were at Hogwarts! Maybe you could-,"

Gabe shook his head, effectively silencing Montgomery before she could even ask a question. "I've never seen anything like this. She's probably just going to have to wait it out. If Idiot over there didn't fuck up the potion in any other way, it shouldn't take too long."

"If you're so good at brewing, then why didn't you do it in the first place?" Mercury asked under his breath.

It seemed as though Gabe wasn't accustomed to having to calm himself down, because instead of the deep calming breaths that Robards had been taking to relax, Gabe completely flew off of the handle.

"Because my skills are better used elsewhere! Because, who would think that even a waste of space and an insult to the department could fuck up something as EASY and standard as veritaserum? You fucking idiot! If you would've killed her, we might never find her father!"

Gabe took a step towards Mercury, but Montgomery put a hand on his chest to stop him. "Now is not the time, Gabe!" she hissed at him through her teeth.

Robards unsheathed his wand and pointed it at Daphne. Daphne wanted to gasp, but her mouth was too busy moving. Daphne barely had enough time to breathe between sentences. A gasp would've been asking for too much of a break.

Was he going to knock her out? She hoped so. She wondered if this were standard procedure in the Auror Department. It was almost as if it were a comedy. They were bickering like school children and screwing up serious interrogations. She no longer wondered how the Death Eaters could've escaped their grasps. Although, she should've known how incompetent they were when Robards gave Harry his stupid "mission" in the first place.

"Daphne, I want you to tell me what you know about your father's whereabouts and any and all dealings he's had with foreign dark wizards," Robards ordered before unsilencing Daphne with his wand.

"I don't talk to my father. He didn't want me to pursue a career! He wanted to marry me off to the highest bidder. I'm not sure what he's been up to because he doesn't agree with my opinions on blood purity. I'm sure he doesn't approve of my relationship with Harry nor my relationship with Hermione but he has no say in anything that goes on in my life. I did see my mother a few weeks ago. She warned me to be careful. I saw her on my way to see Harry for a lunch date I believe. I was surprised because my mother rarely spoke about anything that wasn't fashion or etiquette. She completely ignored Voldemort's return until it was impossible to and then she even then she rarely spoke of it. The last time I saw her ended with a fight, so I wasn't excited to see her. But, for the record, I don't think that my mother would be involved in a terrorist organization. It wouldn't suit her very limited interests. However, I am willing to help the Auror Department in any way that I can. Of course, I would've been more trusting if you hadn't roped my boyfriend into forcing-,"

Robards pointed his wand at Daphne and silenced her once more. "That's quite enough Ms. Greengrass," he said quickly.

Montgomery's eyebrows knitted together in confusion and Gabe raised an eyebrow at his boss. It seemed like the duo were rather confused at their Head of Department's antics. Daphne wondered if they would pursue their curiosity. She wondered if Robards would confess to them the order that he had given Harry; if he would explain the gag order that he had placed the savior of Wizarding Britain under.

"Well, Ms. Greengrass, I think that that will be enough for today. However, we will be keeping tabs on you. It would be in your own best interest to remain in Wizarding Britain until all of this is resolved. Do you have any connection with the Greengrass vaults?" Robards asked her.

Daphne continued to move her mouth silently. Had he not realized that she was still silenced? Noticing that Robards wasn't going to unsilence her again, Daphne shook her head while her mouth still fought to verbalize her thoughts.

Robards pointed his wand at Daphne once again. Daphne's heart stopped every time she was on the receiving end of someone's wand. She knew that she should be able to trust the Head of the Auror Department. After all, he was being paid by the Ministry to protect her from dark wizards, wasn't he? However, for Daphne, once trust was lost, it was nearly impossible to regain. If he would force his own Aurors to commit illegal activity for the greater good, would he have any trouble murdering the daughter of a suspected dark wizard? Probably not.

Suddenly, everything went black and silent.

-x-

Daphne woke up, gasping for breath and unaware of her surroundings. She turned around wildly, trying to understand what had just happened to her. She saw that she was still in the interrogation room. She was on the ugly gray floor, her Healer's robes wrinkled and covered lightly with the dirt that was covering the floor. Daphne figured that there wouldn't be much attention given to the cleanliness of the interrogation room if it's purpose was to intimidate dark wizards and such.

"How are you feeling?" Daphne whipped her head around to see Montgomery standing in the corner. Montgomery had her arms crossed over her chest and a wand in her hand, but she had a kind face.

"I'm fine," Daphne lied quickly. Montgomery let a smile grace her face and nodded.

"I see that you've stopped spouting words like vomit. That's a great sign," Montgomery said softly. Daphne placed a hand to her lips, just to make sure that her mouth was actually closed. She smiled a closed-lipped smile with her hand still pressed to her lips. She had never been so happy to have full control over her mouth. You never notice how badly you want control over your own body until you've lost it.

"Can I leave now?" Daphne asked from her spot on the floor. She took a quick look around the room just to make sure that there wasn't another person hiding in the room that she hadn't noticed before. Montgomery and Daphne were indeed the only people in the room.

"Yes," Montgomery walked over to Daphne and helped her off of the floor once again. "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. The Department isn't usually like this. We weren't nearly this incompetent when we interrogated your sister"

"My sister?" Daphne asked, unsure. She had very little memory of her sister being interrogated. She remembered going through Harry's head and seeing Astoria in the Auror Department, but for some reason that hadn't really registered with her. She was so completely focused on other things at the moment.

Montgomery nodded, but didn't elaborate. Daphne wondered if she were allowed to explain further; if Montgomery was even allowed to talk about it in the first place.

Montgomery pulled a second wand out of her robe and tossed it at Daphne. Daphne reached to catch it, but she missed and the wand smacked her on the cheek. Daphne blamed her lack of eye-hand coordination on the stressful day that she had just experienced.

"I'm guessing that this has a tracker on it," Daphne commented, holding up the wand for inspection. She didn't want to get home and notice that this wasn't actually her wand. She wouldn't be surprised if they accidentally gave her the wrong wand. It would be expected at this point.

"Don't leave the country without permission from the DMLE and dark magic is strictly forbidden. We'll know if you use any illegal spells," Montgomery said softly. Daphne nodded her head in understanding. Her head was still a bit cloudy, but it wasn't cloudy enough to hinder her anger.

She was angry at her father for even putting her in this predicament. She was angry at the Auror Department for the clusterfuck that was that day. She was angry that she hadn't eaten anything that day. She was angry that she had to be monitored. She was angry that she was being treated like a criminal when she hadn't done anything to deserve this punishment. She was angry that she had been a victim of attempted sexual assault only a few days ago and no one seemed to give a shit about that.

"Have a nice night, Ms. Greengrass," Montgomery said politely before holding her arm out and motioning towards the door. Daphne nodded and bit her tongue. She wanted to unleash her anger, but she wouldn't let Montgomery be her target. Out of all of the Aurors in that room, Montgomery had been the only one to act like a professional. Daphne was happy that Montgomery had been the one that she woke up to.

Daphne walked out of the interrogation room and made her way down the long corridor that led to the Auror desks. Most of the desks were empty except for a few stragglers. One of those stragglers being Harry.

Daphne could feel her anger dissipate slightly when her eyes met sparkling emerald. Today had been a long and awful day. Knowing that Harry was still there made her feel a bit less horrible.

 **Sorry for the long wait! I know it's been a while! But, guess who graduates in a few days? I'll finally have my bachelor's. Thank goodness! So, hopefully, I'll be able to update more frequently after I'm done with school!**

 **Please REVIEW! It makes my toes tingle! In the good way!**


	24. Chapter 24

**I haven't abandoned anything. I've just been hit hard by life… Like, really hard. But… I'm baaaaaaaack. So, how are you guys? How's the weather? Oh, no time for small talk? Just updated the story? Well, okay then.**

Chapter 24

"And then what happened?" Harry asked her.

"I couldn't shut up. It was like literal word vomit. It was as if every word that I thought was spilling out of my mouth, but my brain couldn't filter it!" Daphne explained.

The couple sat in the living room of Grimmauld Place. Daphne didn't want to be at home after the interrogation. She knew that she was being watched and it unnerved her. What if they had her place charmed so that every conversation was relayed to the DMLE? How was she supposed to ever go home? Would the wards protect her apartment from such charms? What if Harry's place was charmed? Was that even legal?

Harry handed Daphne another cup of tea and she didn't even wait for it to cool before taking a gulp.

"Mercury is a fucking idiot," Harry commented. Daphne sat on the sofa, with her legs crossed below her and Harry sat across from her in an armchair that he probably should've thrown away a long time ago.

"The thing that really confuses me, is that Robards kept censoring me. Every time I started to spew things that revealed the whole "you using legilimency on me" thing, he would silence me or ask another question," Daphne blurted out before taking a sip of her tea. It needed more sugar. Harry never put enough sugar in.

"I'm sure he didn't want anyone else to know about it. What he was asking me to do was immoral," Harry explained.

"Who do you go to when the Aurors are the bad guys?" Daphne asked thoughtfully. Harry laughed a humorless laugh.

"I think I might have the answer to that." Harry stood up and started making his way out of the living room.

Daphne was so into her own head that she barely noticed him leaving. She was still groggy from being unconscious for so long. She kept replaying the whole ordeal over and over in her head. She was afraid that if she didn't, she'd start to forget things. If only she had a pensieve to preserve these thoughts…

Suddenly, the fireplace in the living room roared to life with bright green flames and Daphne jumped in fear. Her tea spilled all over her and she nearly fell off of the sofa. She fumbled for her wand and pointed it at the tall ginger man walking out of the floo.

"WOAH!" Ron shouted, his hands up in a non-threatening manner. "What the bloody-hell are you doing pointing your wand at me?"

"Who the hell just shows up somewhere unannounced?!" Daphne yelled back at him.

"Well, that's never been a problem before! I show up here unannounced all the time. Never had a wand pointed at me either! Mind putting it away?!" Ron fired back, his hands still up to show that he wasn't reaching for his wand.

Daphne took a deep breath and lowered her wand. What was she going to do? Hex Harry's best friend. She might've if she hadn't realized who he was before it was too late. And then where would that land her? Back in Robard's clutches, no doubt.

"I'm sorry. I've had a very stressful day," she explained. She looked down at the shirt that she was wearing and sighed in frustration. The first thing that she had done after getting to Harry's place was change into something more comfortable. And within minutes, she had completely ruined one of Harry's shirts. This stupid, ugly, plain white shirt that her mother would've sniffed at if she was to ever see Daphne in it. This unspectacular shirt had been ruined with sugar-less tea and it was all her fault. Daphne broke down into tears.

"Wha- It's not that big of a deal, Greengrass. I'm not mad about it. No harm, no foul, right?" Ron flustered, unsure of what to do with a crying girl in front of him.

Harry rushed into the living room and Daphne could only guess what the scene looked like in front of him. She quickly wiped away her tears, not wanting Harry to see her so upset.

"What happened?!" Harry asked, obviously confused and a little irritated from the day's events.

"I ruined your shirt," Daphne said, tears spilling out of her eyes.

Harry walked towards her and sat down beside her on the sofa. He wrapped her up in his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"It's just a plain white t-shirt," Harry said comfortingly.

"It's the ugliest shirt I've ever seen in my life and I hate it," Daphne wailed, unable to control herself. Harry kissed her forehead again and rubbed her back lovingly.

Daphne was aware that Ron was still in the room and she could tell that he was rather uncomfortable. She couldn't bother herself enough to stop crying over this stupid shirt to make sure that Ron was comfortable. She was, however, also aware that this probably cemented Ron's opinion of her in his mind. She was sure that after this, he probably would never like her.

"Well, I can see that you two are busy so I'm just gonna-"

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked Ron, interrupting his escape.

"I was just coming over here to check on you after this morning," Ron said shrugging. "Wanted to make sure that you were okay."

Daphne suddenly remembered that she promised to catch Ron up on everything that was happening. It seemed like forever go when it had actually happened that morning. When she thought that she was still going to be able to go to work that day. Before she was ridiculed, interrogated like a common criminal, and hexed unconscious.

"Ron, I don't think that now is a good ti-"

"If I'm going to tell you everything, I'm going to need something a bit stronger than tea," Daphne said interrupting Harry, her voice still thick with tears.

"Daphne, are you sure?" Harry asked, worry obvious in his voice.

"Do you trust him?" Daphne questioned.

"With my life," Harry said without hesitation.

"Then bring out the firewhiskey. I'm going to find another shirt of yours to hopefully not ruin." Harry's arms fell from around her and she stood up. She gave him a small reassuring smile before excusing herself to rummage through his room.

As she was walking up the stairs, she could hear the cadences of Harry's and Ron's voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying. She was sure that it was about her. What else could they be talking about? Ron walks in and she immediately pulls her wand out on him. Harry walks in and finds Ron awkwardly standing in the middle of the living room with Daphne sitting on the couch in tears. With all that Daphne had been through that day, she still didn't want to be seen as unstable, even if she had good reason to be.

Harry's room wasn't as messy as she expected it to be. In fact, it was rather neat. Where her room looked like a tornado had come swooping through, Harry's room looked like it had been untouched.

She went to his drawers and found another plain white t-shirt. He didn't have many clothes to choose from. She supposed that that was why he had such a clean room. He didn't have many things to clutter it up with. She hoped that after this whole ordeal was over, she could take him shopping to spice his wardrobe up some. If this ordeal was ever over…

No, she couldn't think like that. She had to be optimistic. One day, this would end and Daphne could go back to her boring life.

Now that she thought about it, her life hadn't been boring since she started seeing Harry. Well, what should she have expected? Harry freaking Potter as a boyfriend. If it wasn't one thing, it'd be another. The man was a magnet for trouble. This surely wouldn't have happened if she dated Anthony Goldstein… boring Anthony Goldstein.

She slipped Harry's tea-stained shirt off of her body and slipped on the clean version. She felt much more comfortable with a dry top on. It smelled of Harry and she could feel herself start to relax. She looked around Harry's room and saw how very un-lived in it was. There was so much space to be filled. Her shoes could fill so much of the empty closet space… and her colorful robes could be hung right over there, by the window. And she had so many medical books that could go in a bookcase right in the corner.

"Everything okay?"

Daphne whipped around to see Harry standing in the doorway, a worried expression on his face. Daphne was bothered by how often she was seeing that expression.

"Yeah. Just thinking about how quickly I'm going to ruin your room," Daphne said softly.

"Ah… not with tea I hope," Harry joked, stepping into the room and putting his arms around her.

"Don't tempt me. You know how good I am at spilling tea on things. I just might. Would definitely spice up your decor."

"I'm afraid to let you even touch this room. I like being able to find what I need without hiring a search party," Harry teased.

"How dare y-,"

"It took you 20 minutes to find your other shoe! We completely missed the previews and like 5 minutes of the beginning of that movie!" Harry reminded her.

"Okay, but previews aren't that important and we didn't even miss that much. We were still able to follow the story," Daphne argued.

"That's not the point," Harry laughed. Daphne laughed along with him and she could feel the tension of the day slowly leaving her body.

"We're going to be okay, aren't we?" Daphne asked, embarrassed with how small her voice was at that moment.

"We are. And I'm going to make sure of it."

-x-

Daphne had to work at the hospital the next day. She probably should've taken the day off, but she really couldn't afford to. She was completely cut off from the Greengrass vaults and had no other source of income. Not to mention, if she messed up this internship with Healer Gupta, she was never going to forgive herself. And Clames could very well go and fuck himself if he thought that he was going to keep her away from work. Restraining order or no, she was going to St. Mungo's and that was final.

Daphne hadn't had much sleep the night before, and the night before that sleep was absolutely hopeless. Daphne had spent all night drinking with Ron Weasley (Merlin, who _was_ she?) and catching him up on the unraveling bullshite that she and Harry had been saddled with. Thankfully, Harry had pepper-up potion in his bathroom or that morning would've been much worse.

To avoid going home, Daphne transfigured Harry's ugly white shirt into Healer- In- Training robes. She hoped that she would be okay to go home after work that day. She just needed time to calm her nerves. She knew that she was more than likely being ridiculous, but she would rather be safe than sorry.

Harry had already left. He said something about having to see someone before work. Daphne had her suspicions about who he was going to see, but wasn't too thrilled of the idea. Kingsley Shacklebolt might be friends with Harry (if friends was even the correct term to describe their relationship) but he was no friend to her.

After the war, there was a ton of confusion as to who should be sent to Azkaban and who shouldn't. Many people wanted _EVERYONE_ associated with Voldemort to be thrown away in Azkaban. It didn't matter if Theo was literally tortured by his father before being forced to take the dark mark. And then there were people who were too flustered by having to decide who was actually a victim of Voldemort or a willing participant in the pain of it all. And they believed that everyone should be shown mercy.

Kingsley was the Minister of Magic and he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He should've fought harder to put the Death Eaters behind bars. He should've fought harder to decipher who was a victim of Voldemort's and who wasn't. He should've fought harder to prevent this shite from repeating itself… again.

Daphne really didn't have much hope that Kingsley would be able to do anything. But, she could be totally wrong. Maybe Harry's not even going to Kingsley. Maybe he's going to see someone else. What did she know?

Daphne sighed and stepped into the floo. She hated taking the floo to St. Mungo's. They could get really cluttered and backed-up. It was nearly as bad as the Ministry. She much preferred to walk to work everyday because it gave her time to think and prepare herself for the day. However, her sense of direction wasn't the best and she was sure that she'd find some way to get lost form Harry's house.

So, she took a deep breath and clearly and loudly said "St. Mungo's" and let the heatless green flames engulf her.

When she arrived at St. Mungo's, of course there was someone taking up the floo that she landed in. Fortunately enough, the floo was big enough to house her and the other person. Unfortunately, the person didn't seem too excited about leaving the floo anytime soon.

"Excuse me," Daphne said with a harsh tone to her voice. It was common courtesy to exit the floo as swiftly as possible, to avoid this type of scenario.

"Is this Floor 5? I'm looking for Floor 5," the woman said, her tone nasally and more annoying than Daphne would've liked.

"No," she answered succinctly before shoving the woman out of the floo. Daphne was in no mood to deal with this nonsense. She had very little sleep, no coffee, and was completely unprepared for whatever she was scheduled to face that day. And this woman, who didn't even have the common decency to vacate the cramped space of the floo was not helping matters in the least.

"Why, I've never!" the woman exclaimed with her hand to her chest in scandalized horror.

"Yes. Well, now you have," Daphne said quickly. "Be sure to utilize this experience. I'm almost certain it will happen to you again."

Daphne could feel the dark aura around her. She was aware that this woman hadn't really done anything to be assaulted in such a rude way. But, Daphne care enough to do anything about it. She started to stride away towards the nurses' station before she heard that nasally voice again.

"Aren't you Daphne Greengrass?!"

Daphne stopped in her tracks and mentally cursed every diety that she could think of for allowing this to happen today. Not today.

"Who's asking?" She turned around and looked the little woman in her face. The woman was actually quite young. Daphne hadn't really paid much attention to the woman as she was shoving her out of the fireplace, but she had assumed that the woman was much older. She couldn't be more than a few years older than Daphne herself.

"Hello! My name is Melanie Moore and I work for the Daily Prophet. I just had a few questions about-"

Daphne took off down the hall. Not today.

What could the Daily Prophet possibly have questions for her about? She had been trying to keep a very low profile. Her relationship with Harry had surely become old news. She hadn't assaulted any other reporters lately. Had something gotten out about her short time at the DMLE the day before?

Daphne quickly ran into the break room and locked the door behind her. She just needed five seconds. Just five fucking seconds to clear her head. The day was starting off rather badly. Her nerves were shot and her temper was much shorter than usual. Could she just have a few seconds to recollect herself before anything else happened?

"Hey Daphne! Have you read the paper?"

-x-

Daphne burst through the door and slammed it shut. She whipped out her wand to do a quick _muffliato_ before turning her attention towards the blonde man sitting behind the desk.

"Don't bother knocking. Come right in, Daphne. I don't have a deadline to meet in two hours. Please, have a seat," Draco said, his eyes glued to the papers laid out in front of him.

"Have you read the Daily Prophet today?" Daphne asked, completely ignoring his sarcasm.

"No," he sighed. "Is there another riveting article about how I've given Hermoine the dark mark? Because that was in last week's paper and we all know how much the Prophet likes to recycle the horseshit that they pass for news."

Instead of answering, Daphne slapped the newspaper down on his desk. Draco rolled his eyes before letting them wander to the wrinkled piece of journalism. The smile that broke out on Draco's face only made Daphne angrier.

"What the fuck?" he asked before laughter overtook him.

"It's not fucking funny, Draco!" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring down at him. He attempted to stifle his laughter, but then began to chuckle again.

" _War Hero Neville Longbottom eloped with Greengrass heiress Daphne Greengrass last weekend in an extremely private ceremony. Sources close to the couple tell us that Harry Potter is devastated over the news, but the couple couldn't be happier."_ Draco read aloud, bursting into laughter again.

"This is all your fault!" Daphne hissed at him before taking a seat on the other side of his desk.

"How in the world is it my-,"

"You broke off your engagement with Astoria! If you would've never-,"

"Um, according to this paper, it's _you_ who married Longbottom," Draco supplied, his voice filled with joy and mirth.

"Bloody fucking papers can't even tell the difference between us. I'm blonde and her hair is black. How on Earth could they get us confused?" Daphne grumbled, her arms still crossed over her chest. She wanted to pout and if there was anything that she knew Draco was good at, it was pouting. And pouting was always more bearable with great company.

"Remember when they confused Theo for Greg Goyle last year?" Draco reminded her. "They look nothing alike! Got their names mixed up because they both had Death Eater fathers. Nearly fucked up his whole "unspeakable" career."

"Is it too much to ask that they get their facts straight?! They're the biggest newspaper in the country, for Merlin's sake!" Daphne fumed.

"I can not wait for your father to read this story," Draco said gleefully. Daphne hadn't even thought about that. Her father was going to flip his shit. Served him right for all of the crap he's put her through over the last few years… the last few days even.

"I hope it gives him a heart attack," Daphne admitted truthfully. "Bastard has put me in quite the predicament lately."

"Join the club of " _My father was a complete and total fuck up and now I have to deal with the consequences of his mistakes"_ club. We meet on Thursdays at 6pm. No sign-up fee required," he joked humorlessly before handing Daphne back the newspaper.

She took another look at the moving picture. Neville was holding her sister's hand tightly and looking down at her as they walked down some unnamed street. She could see her sister's left hand and it _looked_ like there might've been a ring on her fourth finger, but there was really no telling. The thing that really unsettled her was how HAPPY her sister looked.

How long had the two been dating? Had they really been married? What kind of person gets married without letting their sister know? Had they really moved so far apart from one another that Astoria couldn't be bothered to write an owl letting her know of the upcoming nuptials?!

"I mean this in the best possible way, Greengrass. You look like a dementor has kissed you," Draco noted nonchalantly. Oh, Daphne was sure that she did. With the day that she had yesterday and the day that she was having now, who could blame her?

"I had a rough day yesterday. It's a long story."

"Yes. Well, as I said, I do have a deadline to meet in about two hours so-,"

"I was interrogated by the DMLE yesterday about the whereabouts of my father," Daphne interrupted. Draco stared at her, a blank look on his face. Daphne opened her mouth to speak again, but Draco held up a finger to silence her.

Draco grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote a quick note. He opened the window to his office, folded the note into a paper airplane, and tossed it out of the window and watched it take flight through the air.

"What are you-"

"Asking Hermione for an extension on the deadline. I'm sure that she'll give it to me. We're not supposed to send in our proposal until next week, but you know how she likes to revise her revised revisions." Draco opened up a drawer at his desk and took out a bottle of firewhiskey and three small glasses. Daphne made a face at the amber liquid, remembering how much she had had of it, not even 12 hours ago.

Moments later, Hermione burst through the door. "Malfoy, this better be good."

"Hello to you too, love," He said, a smile spreading across his face.

"Daphne? What are you doing here? Is Clames bothering you again? Because if he is, we can move the plan along. I've got just the thing to fix him and if he thinks that he's going to get away with-,"

Draco poured a bit of firewhiskey into one of the small glasses and handed it to Hermione. Hermione looked back at him with a very confused face, but held the glass tightly in her hand nonetheless.

"Draco, it's 2 in the afternoon. You can't really expect me to start drinking right now. Especially with our deadline in two hours!"

Draco made a face at Daphne, letting her know that the floor was hers to say her piece. Daphne sighed, poured herself a glass of the firewhiskey that she knew was probably too expensive to be tossed back as quickly as she did, and began to tell the couple her story.

When she was finished, the pair stared at her in stunned silence. Draco began to massage his temples and Hermione also tossed back her glass of whiskey.

"What they did was completely illegal," Hermione finally said to break the silence.

"You got drunk with Weasley last night?" Draco asked, confusion filling his voice.

"Is that really what you focused on? Not the corruption, blackmail, or coercion? That's what you zeroed in on? Daphne asked, her head a little foggy after drinking Draco's expensive alcohol so quickly and with nothing on her stomach.

"Well, that doesn't surprise me. It's the Ministry after all. This wouldn't be exactly news."

"Would you happen to know if my father had anything to do with Voldemort? Might he have shown up to an event or anything like that?" Daphne asked, desperate for any kind of answer. She would gladly sacrifice her father's freedom if it meant that she could go back to having a moment of peace.

"I think you're overestimating my position in his eyes. After my father fucked up in our fifth year, there's no way that I would've been involved in any kind of event where I would be crossing paths with financial backers."

Whenever Draco spoke of his time with Voldemort, he always had a glazed look to his eye. It was as if he was both trying to remember specific instances and simultaneously blocking out others. She saw the same look in Theo's eyes whenever it was brought up. But, unlike Draco, Theo would avoid conversation of the topic.

Daphne had a raging headache. She was tired and cranky and wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and stay there for eternity. She was happy that she had friends to come to in her time of need, but she was absolutely frustrated that all of this had fallen on her plate within such a short time span.

She had spent her lunch hour with Draco and Hermione and hadn't ingested anything other than alcohol and it really wasn't settling well with her stomach. Before her lunch break, Daphne had been so focused on the Prophet bluster with her sister and working with Healer Gupta that she hadn't noticed how hungry and fatigued she was.

"Stop showing up here without food in your stomach, Mrs. Longbottom. You only ever visit to complain. Never to say "hello" or ask how _my_ day is going," Draco teased before reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out granola bar. Daphne quickly reached out and snatched it from his hands.

"I'll make sure to visit you and interrupt your deadlines more often, Draco. And the Longbottom joke… sooooo, not funny."

 **I'm going to TRY to update regularly at least once a week. I know that I've said that before… but I mean it this time. To be fair, i meant it last time too. But…. life amirite?**

 **Thank you to those who have favorited and followed and reviewed. You have no idea what it meant to me to get those beautiful notifications that another reader has decided to take a chance on my sporadic story. It really made my darkest days the tiniest bit lighter. And I thank you for that.**

 **Leave another review if you will? I do enjoy reading them, for the most part, and will start to reply to each of them again. Look out for the next chapter!**


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